Quotes from From the Corner of His Eye

Dean Koontz ·  729 pages

Rating: (26.1K votes)


“Not one day in anyone’s life is an uneventful day, no day without profound meaning, no matter how dull and boring it might seem, no matter whether you are a seamstress or a queen, a shoeshine boy, or a movie star, a renowned philosopher or a Down’s-syndrome child. Because in every day of your life, there are opportunities to perform little kindnesses for others, both by conscious acts of will and unconscious example. Each smallest act of kindness—even just words of hope when they are needed, the remembrance of a birthday, a compliment that engenders a smile—reverberates across great distances and spans of time, affecting lives unknown to the one whose generous spirit was the source of this good echo, because kindness is passed on and grows each time it’s passed, until a simple courtesy becomes an act of selfless courage years later and far away. Likewise, each small meanness, each thoughtless expression of hatred, each envious and bitter act, regardless of how petty, can inspire others, and is therefore the seed that ultimately produces evil fruit, poisoning people whom you have never met and never will. All human lives are so profoundly and intricately entwined—those dead, those living, those generations yet to come—that the fate of all is the fate of each, and the hope of humanity rests in every heart and in every pair of hands. Therefore, after every failure, we are obliged to strive again for success, and when faced with the end of one thing, we must build something new and better in the ashes, just as from pain and grief, we must weave hope, for each of us is a thread critical to the strength—to the very survival of the human tapestry. Every hour in every life contains such often-unrecognized potential to affect the world that the great days and thrilling possibilities are combined always in this momentous day.”
― Dean Koontz, quote from From the Corner of His Eye


“It will all be better in the end and if it is not better then it must not be the end yet”
― Dean Koontz, quote from From the Corner of His Eye


“Each smallest act of kindness, reverberates across great distances and spans of time --affecting lives unknown to the one who’s generous spirit, was the source of this good echo. Because kindness is passed on and grows each time it’s passed until a simple courtesy becomes an act of selfless courage, years later, and far away. Likewise, each small meanness, each expression of hatred, each act of evil.”
― Dean Koontz, quote from From the Corner of His Eye


“She lived for others, her heart tuned to their anguish and their needs.”
― Dean Koontz, quote from From the Corner of His Eye


“His blue eyes were seas where sorrow sailed.”
― Dean Koontz, quote from From the Corner of His Eye



“When we don’t allow ourselves to hope, we don’t allow ourselves to have purpose. Without purpose, without meaning, life is dark. We’ve no light within, and we’re just living to die.”
― Dean Koontz, quote from From the Corner of His Eye


“All human lives are so profoundly and intricately entwined those dead, those living, those generations yet to come that the fate of all is the fate of each, and the hope of humanity rests in every heart and in every pair of hands. Therefore, after every failure, we are obliged to strive again for success, and when faced with the end of one thing, we must build something new and better in the ashes, just as from pain and grief, we must weave hope, for each of us is a thread critical to the strength to the very survival of the human tapestry. Every hour in every life contains such often unrecognized potential to affect the world that the great days and thrilling possibilities are combined always in this momentous day.”
― Dean Koontz, quote from From the Corner of His Eye


“In the healing ways of women that remained mysterious to [him] even as he watched them do their work, tears were followed by reminiscences that brought a smile and soothed, and hope was always found to be the flower that bloomed from every seed of hopelessness.”
― Dean Koontz, quote from From the Corner of His Eye


“Marriage is an expression of love and respect and trust and faith in the future, but the union of husband and wife is also an alliance against the challenges and tragedies of life, a promise that with me in your corner, you will never stand alone.”
― Dean Koontz, quote from From the Corner of His Eye


“Two murders and an act of arson. Junior was being a bold boy this evening”
― Dean Koontz, quote from From the Corner of His Eye



“life’s about living and being happy, not about dying.”
― Dean Koontz, quote from From the Corner of His Eye


“Each smallest act of kindness reverberates across great distances and spans of time, affecting lives unknown to the one whose generous spirit was the source of this good echo, because kindness is passed on and grows each time it’s passed, until a simple courtesy becomes an act of selfless courage years later and far away. Likewise, each small meanness, each expression of hatred, each act of evil. —This Momentous Day, H.R. White”
― Dean Koontz, quote from From the Corner of His Eye


“Creating a family in this turbulent world is an act of faith, a wager that against all odds there will be a future, that love can last, that the heart can triumph against all adversities and even against the grinding wheel of time.”
― Dean Koontz, quote from From the Corner of His Eye


“Las decisiones que cada uno de nosotros tomamos y las acciones que acompañan a dichas decisiones son como vibraciones en la cuerda de una guitarra”
― Dean Koontz, quote from From the Corner of His Eye


“Life was like the ice on an early-winter pond: more fragile than it appeared to be, riddled by hidden fractures, with a cold darkness below.”
― Dean Koontz, quote from From the Corner of His Eye



“He can't always watch us directly,...with his fullest attention every minute, but He's always at least watching from the corner of his eye.”
― Dean Koontz, quote from From the Corner of His Eye


“...every day in every life is of the most profound importance.”
― Dean Koontz, quote from From the Corner of His Eye


“Nolly Wolfstan, private detective, had the teeth of a god and a face so unfortunate that it argued convincingly against the existence of a benign deity.”
― Dean Koontz, quote from From the Corner of His Eye


“The hospital was drowned in the bottomless silence that fills”
― Dean Koontz, quote from From the Corner of His Eye


“Every hour in every life contains such often-unrecognized potential to affect the world that the great days for which we, in our dissatisfaction, so often yearn are already with us; all great days and thrilling possibilities are combined always in this momentous day.”
― Dean Koontz, quote from From the Corner of His Eye



“Your this beautiful ship that will sail a long way, and I'd only be your anchor"
"A ship without an anchor can never be at rest”
― Dean Koontz, quote from From the Corner of His Eye


“Libraries are packed with biographies of movie stars and politicians, most of them not capable of as much meaningful self-analysis as you’d get from a toad. We don’t need to know more about celebrities’ lives, Obadiah. What might help us, what might even save us, is knowing more about the lives of real people who’ve never made it even medium but who know where they came from and why.”
― Dean Koontz, quote from From the Corner of His Eye


“You must never lie to yourself, or you are left with no one to trust.”
― Dean Koontz, quote from From the Corner of His Eye


“Easy hope was usually false hope.”
― Dean Koontz, quote from From the Corner of His Eye


About the author

Dean Koontz
Born place: in Everett, Pennsylvania, The United States
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“The night's chilly breath tickles up my neck and finds my ear, whispering secrets only the wind knows.”
― Libba Bray, quote from The Sweet Far Thing


“O Lord my God, tell me what you are to me. Say to my soul, I am your salvation. Say it so that I can hear it. My heart is listening, Lord; open the ears of my heard and say to my soul, I am your salvation. Let me run toward this voice and seize hold of you. Do not hide your face from me: let me die so that I may see it, for not to see it would be death to me indeed.”
― Augustine of Hippo, quote from Confessions


“I.
In the greenest of our valleys,
By good angels tenanted,
Once a fair and stately palace -
Radiant palace - reared its head.
In the monarch Thought's dominion -
It stood there !
Never seraph spread a pinion
Over fabric half so fair.
II.
Banners yellow, glorious, golden,
On its roof did float and flow;
(This - all this - was in the olden
Time long ago)
And every gentle air that dallied,
In that sweet day,
Along the ramparts plumed and pallid,
A winged odor went away.
III.
Wanderers in that happy valley
Through two luminous windows saw
Spirits moving musically
To a lute's well-tunéd law,
Round about a throne, where sitting
(Porphyrogene !)
In state his glory well befitting,
The ruler of the realm was seen.
IV.
And all with pearl and ruby glowing
Was the fair palace door,
Through which came flowing, flowing, flowing,
And sparkling evermore,
A troop of Echoes whose sweet duty
Was but to sing,
In voices of surpassing beauty,
The wit and wisdom of their king.
V.
But evil things, in robes of sorrow,
Assailed the monarch's high estate ;
(Ah, let us mourn, for never morrow
Shall dawn upon him, desolate !)
And, round about his home, the glory
That blushed and bloomed
Is but a dim-remembered story
Of the old time entombed.
VI.
And travellers now within that valley,
Through the red-litten windows, see
Vast forms that move fantastically
To a discordant melody ;
While, like a rapid ghastly river,
Through the pale door,
A hideous throng rush out forever,
And laugh - but smile no more.”
― Edgar Allan Poe, quote from The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales


“Mirdin, el más delicado de los hombres delicados, le había enseñado como se razonaba con los camellos. Le propinó tal puñetazo en las costillas que la camella soltó el aire entre sus amarillentos dientes cuadrados.”
― Noah Gordon, quote from The Physician


“George Washington chopped down the tree, and then he threw away the money. Do you understand? He was telling us an essential truth. Namely, that money doesn't grow on trees. This is what made our country great, Peter. Now George Washington's picture is on every dollar bill. There is an important lesson to be learned from all this.”
― Paul Auster, quote from The New York Trilogy


Interesting books

My Life in France
(70K)
My Life in France
by Julia Child
Lullabies for Little Criminals
(16.3K)
Lullabies for Little...
by Heather O'Neill
Thérèse Raquin
(15.8K)
Thérèse Raquin
by Émile Zola
Princess of the Silver Woods
(10.4K)
Princess of the Silv...
by Jessica Day George
The Shadow Throne
(18.5K)
The Shadow Throne
by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Sweet Rome
(13K)
Sweet Rome
by Tillie Cole

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.