Quotes from As She Climbed Across the Table

Jonathan Lethem ·  224 pages

Rating: (4.6K votes)


“My inner chemistry had been hijacked by a mad scientist, who poured the fizzy, volatile contents of my heart from a test tube marked SOBER REALITY into another labeled SUNNY DELUSION, and back again, faster and faster, until the floor of my life was slick with spillage.”
― Jonathan Lethem, quote from As She Climbed Across the Table


“My heart, to put it more simply, got nostalgic for the present. Always a bad sign.”
― Jonathan Lethem, quote from As She Climbed Across the Table


“My heart and the elevator, a plummet inside a plummet.”
― Jonathan Lethem, quote from As She Climbed Across the Table


“I'm learning to hate the sound of my own voice.”
― Jonathan Lethem, quote from As She Climbed Across the Table


“The speaker was stringy and angular, his blond hair pulled back in a ponytail, his plaid workman's shirtsleeves rolled up around his pale biceps. Journalism major, I guessed.”
― Jonathan Lethem, quote from As She Climbed Across the Table



“I am relaxed. It's just buried under layers of incredulity and panic. But underneath those I'm very relaxed.”
― Jonathan Lethem, quote from As She Climbed Across the Table


“This kiss would be with me, invisible badge or scar, when I went back to the apartment.”
― Jonathan Lethem, quote from As She Climbed Across the Table


About the author

Jonathan Lethem
Born place: in Brooklyn, New York, The United States
Born date February 19, 1964
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“Sometimes in storm weather the shore had fluttered with disabled swallows. They crouched lower for his approach, without strength to escape. In his hands they pulsed with that same pulse. He had taken a bird and warmed it between his hands or inside his jacket, brought the life back until it was able to fly. Sometimes, released from his hands, they circled once around him before flying away; in gratitude, or so the child had believed--and the belief had survived all the man's science.”
― Barry Unsworth, quote from Sacred Hunger


“I want my name to mean something after I’m dead.”
― V.C. Andrews, quote from Heaven


“I stood and went to her side. Taking her hands, I tugged her onto her feet and wrapped my arms around her waist. I lowered my head, brushing my lips across her cheek. “I’m serious about you, Avery. If you want me for real, you have me.”
Shortcake pressed her palms to my chest. “I want you for real.”
“Good to know.” I slanted my lips over hers. “Because, if not, this would get a whole lot awkward.”
― J. Lynn, quote from Trust in Me


“Er war so einfach und untadelig wie seine Konduitenliste, und nur der Zorn, der ihn manchmal ergriff, hätte einen Kenner der Menschen ahnen lassen, daß auch in der Seele des Hauptmanns Trotta die nächtlichen Abgründe dämmerten, in denen die Stürme schlafen und die unbekannten Stimmen namenloser Ahnen.”
― Joseph Roth, quote from The Radetzky March


“- How dare you, I repeat, In disregard of all decency, call me a goose?

- I spit on your head, Ivan Ivanovich! What are you screaming so for?”
― Nikolai Gogol, quote from The Overcoat and Other Short Stories


Interesting books

Geography Club
(13.4K)
Geography Club
by Brent Hartinger
Bright Star: Love Letters and Poems of John Keats to Fanny Brawne
(2.3K)
Bright Star: Love Le...
by John Keats
Deadly Little Games
(8.3K)
Deadly Little Games
by Laurie Faria Stolarz
Welcome to the Underworld
(1K)
Drowning Instinct
(4K)
Drowning Instinct
by Ilsa J. Bick
The Treachery of Beautiful Things
(5.3K)
The Treachery of Bea...
by Ruth Frances Long

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.