Quotes from Cry to Heaven

Anne Rice ·  566 pages

Rating: (18.2K votes)


“And this time as the lashes come, try to think about the pain, instead of against it, because there is not one single aspect of life, past, present, or future, that does not tear your reason from you, to think on it. So think about the pain. This pain after all has its limits. You can chart its passage through your body. It has a beginning, middle, end. Imagine if it had a color. The first cut of the lash is what, red? Red, spreading into a brilliant yellow. And this one again, red, red, no yellow, and then white, white, white, white. . .Why have you incarcerated yourself in this palazzo of torture chambers, why do you not leave this place? Because you are a monster and this is a school for monsters, and if you leave here, then you will be completely, completely alone! Alone with this!

Don't weep in front of these strangers. Swallow it down. Don't weep in front of these strangers! Cry to heaven, cry to heaven, cry to heaven.”
― Anne Rice, quote from Cry to Heaven


“In all my life,” Ernestino said, “I have never heard a voice like that. God has touched you, Signore. But sing while you can, because it won’t be long before those high notes leave you forever.”
― Anne Rice, quote from Cry to Heaven


“That one, there,” Tonio murmured, but the weight of his suspicion was breaking him, sickening him. Send death for me, like that, some paid assassin? It seemed he’d already been dealt the blow and this was not life any longer, rather some nightmare place where that sentinel stood on the bridge and these strangers urged him to a meaningless portal.”
― Anne Rice, quote from Cry to Heaven


“He was tired and full of shame, and if Ernestino and the others wouldn’t brave this rain, he would go it alone, he would find some place to sing, some place where, anonymous and numbed by drink, he could sing until he had forgotten everything.”
― Anne Rice, quote from Cry to Heaven


“But he could not go up to the room as yet, and seating himself on a stone step, his head on his arms, he wept silently. Years had passed since he had shed tears, or so it seemed. Surely years since he had let them flow so copiously. And what stopped him finally was that he could hear his own crying.”
― Anne Rice, quote from Cry to Heaven



“The Horror of the world was that thousands of evils fell upon innocent people, and no one was punished and with great promise there was nothing but pain and desire Children mutilated to form a choir of seraphim. Their song was a cry to heaven the sky was not listening. ”
― Anne Rice, quote from Cry to Heaven


“Tonio Treschi was that half man, that less than man that arouses the contempt of every whole man who looks upon it. Tonio Treschi was that thing which women cannot leave alone and men find infinitely disturbing, frightening, pathetic, the butt of jokes and endless bullying, the necessary evil of the church choirs and the opera stage which is, outside that artifice and grace and soaring music, very simply monstrous.”
― Anne Rice, quote from Cry to Heaven


“So why must it wound him that the most despairing music is full of beauty? Why must it hurt him and make him cynical and sad and untrusting?”
― Anne Rice, quote from Cry to Heaven


“Who were the men who did this?" Guido demanded suddenly.
Tonio was putting on his cloak. He looked up as if already in deep thought.
"Fools," he answered, "at the command of a coward.”
― Anne Rice, quote from Cry to Heaven


“Who were the men who did this?" Guido demanded suddenly.
Tonio was putting on his cloack. He looked up as if already in deep thought.
"Fools," he answered, "at the command of a coward."

page 139”
― Anne Rice, quote from Cry to Heaven



About the author

Anne Rice
Born place: in New Orleans, Louisiana, The United States
Born date October 4, 1941
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“Are you in the bath?" Luke demanded.
Heat suffused her face. "Yeah. Why?"
"So you're naked."
Olivia couldn't help but laugh. "That's what usually happens in a bathtub. Or do you keep your clothes on when you bathe?"
"No, I don't keep my clothes on." He sounded frazzled. "And I don't do baths. I shower. "Baths take too long."
"And you're the kind of guy who can't waste time, right? You need the action."
"Pretty much." There was a suggestive pause. "You don't like action?"
She grinned to herself. "You're incorrigible.”
― Elle Kennedy, quote from Midnight Alias


“Jack took a shot through the seat of his pants. He tells me next time I hold a target shoot he ain't available....

Listen, Saba. We came, we had a look, there ain't nuthin here. But, hey. It ain't bin a complete waste of time. I got my butt shot. You must be pleased about that.
I'm sure you deserve it fer somethin, I says.
Oh, I most certainly do, he says.”
― Moira Young, quote from Raging Star


“If you want to know how someone really feels, you almost never have to ask.”
― Megan Hart, quote from Tempted


“The way you love the man you marry is going to be different than the love you felt for an old boyfriend.”
― Jillian Dodd, quote from The Keatyn Chronicles: Books 1-3


“Hold on, and when we get to your home, stay out of the way when your father tries to kill me.”
― Rebecca Zanetti, quote from Marked


Interesting books

Bossypants
(666.8K)
Bossypants
by Tina Fey
Dragonflight
(107.9K)
Dragonflight
by Anne McCaffrey
Eva Luna
(32.4K)
Eva Luna
by Isabel Allende
Rebel Angels
(92.3K)
Rebel Angels
by Libba Bray
O Pioneers!
(38.1K)
O Pioneers!
by Willa Cather
Ghost Story
(58.3K)
Ghost Story
by Peter Straub

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.