Quotes from Birthmarked

“There are some things, once they are done, that we can never question, because if we did, we wouldn't be able to go on. And we have to go on, every single day.”
― Caragh M. O'Brien, quote from Birthmarked

“Even the worst feeling, with time and familiarity, became tolerable.”
― Caragh M. O'Brien, quote from Birthmarked

“Would you have this?” the Protectorat hissed at his son.
Rafael's gaze narrowed in a slow inspection while she stared defiantly back. Rafael's gaze faltered, shot briefly toward Leon, and then down. His answer was obvious: no.
And in spite of everything, in the face of all the other more important dangers that threatened her, it still stung that someone, some boy, found her ugly. Gaia burned with sudden hate for all of them.
The Protectorat saw. He smiled slightly.
“I thought not,” said the Protectorat, releasing her with a flick. He turned back toward his family. “I can't thrust her on any family I know, no matter what her genes are. She's a freak, not a hero. I'd rather make a hero out of Myrna Silk.”
Leon had been standing tensely throughout this exchange. “I'd take Gaia,” Leon said, his low voice resonating in the space.”
― Caragh M. O'Brien, quote from Birthmarked

“What happened to your face?' he asked. 'When I was little, my grandmother was making candles and she had a big vat of hot beeswax in the backyard,' she said. 'I walked into the vat.' Usually that ended the conversation. 'I don't remember it,' she added. 'How old were you?' he asked. She tilted her face slightly, watching him. 'Ten months.' 'You were walking at ten months?' he asked. 'Not very well, apparently,' she said dryly.”
― Caragh M. O'Brien, quote from Birthmarked

“When you decide something's right, there's nothing that can stop you from doing it.”
― Caragh M. O'Brien, quote from Birthmarked

“There are many ways to be a criminal or hero. Don't forget that.”
― Caragh M. O'Brien, quote from Birthmarked

“Be good, Gaia,” Capt. Grey told her, his voice grave. She still refused to look at him, but she could feel the heated flush of anger again in her cheeks. “Cooperate with the guards. For your own sake,” he continued.

“Be good yourself, Captain,” she said bitterly. “If you know how.”
― Caragh M. O'Brien, quote from Birthmarked

“Though she could not see his shadowed eyes clearly, she sensed an emptiness in there that matched the controlled composure of his other features. It chilled her.”
― Caragh M. O'Brien, quote from Birthmarked

“As she walked through the dark, stepping softly through the wet stones, she looked ahead to where the first cautious star managed to blink through the clouds.”
― Caragh M. O'Brien, quote from Birthmarked

“She pivoted right, and sensed the vast, open space of the wasteland stretching before her under the opaque sky, a darkness as thin and final as the velvet lining of a shroud.”
― Caragh M. O'Brien, quote from Birthmarked

“The tinkle of a wind chime stirred from over a window. Purple and white phlox cascaded cheerfully over the top of a nearby stone wall. Sunlight sifted through the weave of her straw hat, casting freckles of light on her nose and cheeks that shifted, out of focus, as she walked.”
― Caragh M. O'Brien, quote from Birthmarked

“That was a sauna parlor, there, where I found you," the baker said. "They'll just think you were working the late shift."

Gaia was baffled. "A sauna parlor?"

She saw the baker and his wife hesitate.

The girl clarified in her open, childish voice. "He means it's a brothel."

The baked clapped a hand to his forehead.

"What?" the girl said. "It's a very discreet, high-class brothel.”
― Caragh M. O'Brien, quote from Birthmarked

“Todos somos vulnerables, sobre todo cuando amamos a alguien.”
― Caragh M. O'Brien, quote from Birthmarked

“She waited, unwilling to meet his eyes, hoping he would go on. When he didn't, the silence stretched between them like invisible cobwebs. In the dimmest part of her, she realized she might have wishes, too, elusive wishes that belonged more to a girl in a garden than they did to a captive.”
― Caragh M. O'Brien, quote from Birthmarked

“You always have a choice, Gaia. You can always say no.” His voice was strangely hollow. “They might kill you for it, but you can always say no.”
― Caragh M. O'Brien, quote from Birthmarked

“Unutma, hepimiz savunmasızız. Özellikle de birini seviyorsak.”
― Caragh M. O'Brien, quote from Birthmarked

“Nothing was right with her parents gone, no matter how much she'd tried to go on without them.”
― Caragh M. O'Brien, quote from Birthmarked

“You know what? You re pretty good at pushing people away from you. Did you know that? Maybe that's why you had only one friend growing up.”
― Caragh M. O'Brien, quote from Birthmarked

“Once I'm gone, be careful who you trust. Use your wits, Gaia," the woman said. "Remember we're all vulnerable. Especially if we love someone."

"You've got that wrong," Gaia said, thinking of her parents.
"It's love that makes us strong.”
― Caragh M. O'Brien, quote from Birthmarked

About the author

Popular quotes

“I sat there looking normal but thinking about how much I wished we were going to see the real Jesus. Everyone needed a miracle once in a while.”
― Jennifer Gooch Hummer, quote from Girl Unmoored

“Il y en a qui écrivent pour rechercher les applaudissements humains, au moyen de nobles qualités du coeur que l’imagination invente ou qu’ils peuvent avoir. Moi, je fais servir mon génie à peindre les délices de la cruauté ! Délices non passagères, artificielles ; mais, qui ont commencé avec l’homme, finiront avec lui. Le génie ne peut-il pas s’allier avec la cruauté dans les résolutions secrètes de la Providence ? ou, parce qu’on est cruel, ne peut-on pas avoir du génie ? On en verra la preuve dans mes paroles ; il ne tient qu’à vous de m’écouter, si vous le voulez bien... Pardon, il me semblait que mes cheveux s’étaient dressés sur ma tête ; mais, ce n’est rien, car, avec ma main, je suis parvenu facilement à les remettre dans leur première position. Celui qui chante ne prétend pas que ses cavatines soient une chose inconnue ; au contraire, il se loue de ce que les pensées hautaines et méchantes de son héros soient dans tous les hommes.”
― Comte de Lautréamont, quote from Maldoror = Les Chants de Maldoror, together with a translation of Lautréamont's Poésies

“2 :
...
أنت تفكر و تفكر
عشرة آلاف فكرة
.. و لكن و لا فكرة واحدة
سوف تعطيك
ماتسعى اليه حقا

تجلس في صمت
لتعثر على الصمت
.. و لكن الصمت لا يأتي ابدا.
***
روحك تغني دائما
أغنية إلهية
***
كل متاعبك
و كل همومك
لن تتلاشى ابدا
حتى و لو امتلكت
كل كنوز العالم

و رغم كل الحيل الذكية
التى تستخدمها
.. الحيل التي لا تعد و لا تحصى
لن يبقى معك
و لا حتى شخص واحد ...

كيف يمكننا أن نجد
بيت الحقيقة ؟


كيف يمكننا أن نكسر
هذا الجدار من الأكاذيب ؟

: سلم نفسك
و سر في طريق إرادة
(الروح)

آوه ناناك :
إنه المكتوب ،
و يجب أن نطيع ، و نسير في طريق إرادتها”
― Guru Nanak, quote from Sri Guru Granth Sahib

“I shall never eat duck again. I cannot believe I used to like duck. The duck betrayed me.”
― Cassandra Clare, quote from Vampires, Scones, and Edmund Herondale

“Wine?" I asked, ready to order.
"I’d rather have Sex on the Beach." He winked at me with a devilish grin.”
― J.C. Reed, quote from Surrender Your Love

Interesting books

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.