Quotes from Grass for His Pillow

“Death comes suddenly and life is fragile and brief. No one can alter this either by prayers or spells.”
― Lian Hearn, quote from Grass for His Pillow

“Moartea vine pe neasteptate, iar viata e fragila si scurta. Nimeni nu poate sa schimbe asta, nici prin rugaciuni, nici prin vraji.”
― Lian Hearn, quote from Grass for His Pillow

“Cuando cruzamos el puente examiné la inscripción de Shigeru me había leído en su día: "El clan Otori da la bienvenida a los justos y los leales. Que los injustos y los desleales sean precavidos". "Los injustos y desleales". Como yo. Desleal a Shigeru, quien me había legado sus tierras; tan injusto como los miembros de la tribu, injusto y cruel.”
― Lian Hearn, quote from Grass for His Pillow

“It was as hot as ever, even the turn of the moon bringing no relief, and the cries of cicadas fell like showers around me.”
― Lian Hearn, quote from Grass for His Pillow

“Nunca he matado a un hombre desarmado y nunca he asesinado por placer.”
― Lian Hearn, quote from Grass for His Pillow

“El descubrira mi engaño y nunca más deseará verme.”
― Lian Hearn, quote from Grass for His Pillow

“Mi padre no volverá a mirarme a la cara", pensó. "Apartará sus ojos de mí, incluso me estará dando muerte.”
― Lian Hearn, quote from Grass for His Pillow

“Nunca antes había recordado aquel momento", pensó. "Y sin emitir sonido alguno murmuró, "¡Madre! ¡Madre!”
― Lian Hearn, quote from Grass for His Pillow

“Al igual que el río siempre está a la puerta, así está siempre el mundo de puertas afuera. Y es en ese mundo donde estamos obligados a vivir.”
― Lian Hearn, quote from Grass for His Pillow

“Los perros ladran en la distancia y los gallos anunciaban la llegada del nuevo día.”
― Lian Hearn, quote from Grass for His Pillow

“Coloqué mi cuchillo junto al colchón y me introduje bajo la manta sin molestarme siquiera en quitarme la ropa.”
― Lian Hearn, quote from Grass for His Pillow

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Popular quotes

“Men like Bubba Boyd think the earth owes them a living. They take whatever wealth they can from the mountains and move on. I actually feel sorry for him, I really do. He can’t for the life of him see the simple beauty in a waterfall or understand the importance of history and place. If I have one hope for you, Kevin, it’s that you never become one of those men.”
― Christopher Scotton, quote from The Secret Wisdom of the Earth

“I have one last hope for you, which is something that I already had at 21. The friends with whom I sat on graduation day have been my friends for life. They are my children’s godparents, the people to whom I’ve been able to turn in times of trouble, friends who have been kind enough not to sue me when I’ve used their names for Death Eaters. At our graduation we were bound by enormous affection, by our shared experience of a time that could never come again, and, of course, by the knowledge that we held certain photographic evidence that would be exceptionally valuable if any of us ran for Prime Minister.”
― J.K. Rowling, quote from Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination

“We’ll vote,” Maia said. “And I promise not to vote for a chick flick. They’re crap anyway. It’s always about two idiots who apparently don’t understand the art of communication.”
― Samantha Young, quote from Moonlight on Nightingale Way

“Maria, lonely prostitute on a street of pain,
You, at least, hail me and speak to me
While a thousand others ignore my face.
You offer me an hour of love,
And your fees are not as costly as most.
You are the madonna of the lonely,
The first-born daughter in a world of pain.
You do not turn fat men aside,
Or trample on the stuttering, shy ones,
You are the meadow where desperate men
Can find a moment's comfort.

Men have paid more to their wives
To know a bit of peace
And could not walk away without the guilt
That masquerades as love.
You do not bind them, lovely Maria, you comfort them
And bid them return.
Your body is more Christian than the Bishop's
Whose gloved hand cannot feel the dropping of my blood.
Your passion is as genuine as most,
Your caring as real!

But you, Maria, sacred whore on the endless pavement of pain,
You, whose virginity each man may make his own
Without paying ought but your fee,
You who know nothing of virgin births and immaculate conceptions,
You who touch man's flesh and caress a stranger,
Who warm his bed to bring his aching skin alive,
You make more sense than stock markets and football games
Where sad men beg for virility.
You offer yourself for a fee--and who offers himself for less?

At times you are cruel and demanding--harsh and insensitive,
At times you are shrewd and deceptive--grasping and hollow.
The wonder is that at times you are gentle and concerned,
Warm and loving.
You deserve more respect than nuns who hide their sex for eternal love;
Your fees are not so high, nor your prejudice so virtuous.
You deserve more laurels than the self-pitying mother of many children,
And your fee is not as costly as most.

Man comes to you when his bed is filled with brass and emptiness,
When liquor has dulled his sense enough
To know his need of you.
He will come in fantasy and despair, Maria,
And leave without apologies.
He will come in loneliness--and perhaps
Leave in loneliness as well.
But you give him more than soldiers who win medals and pensions,
More than priests who offer absolution
And sweet-smelling ritual,
More than friends who anticipate his death
Or challenge his life,
And your fee is not as costly as most.

You admit that your love is for a fee,
Few women can be as honest.
There are monuments to statesmen who gave nothing to anyone
Except their hungry ego,
Monuments to mothers who turned their children
Into starving, anxious bodies,
Monuments to Lady Liberty who makes poor men prisoners.
I would erect a monument for you--
who give more than most--
And for a meager fee.

Among the lonely, you are perhaps the loneliest of all,
You come so close to love
But it eludes you
While proper women march to church and fantasize
In the silence of their rooms,
While lonely women take their husbands' arms
To hold them on life's surface,
While chattering women fill their closets with clothes and
Their lips with lies,
You offer love for a fee--which is not as costly as most--
And remain a lonely prostitute on a street of pain.

You are not immoral, little Maria, only tired and afraid,
But you are not as hollow as the police who pursue you,
The politicians who jail you, the pharisees who scorn you.
You give what you promise--take your paltry fee--and
Wander on the endless, aching pavements of pain.
You know more of universal love than the nations who thrive on war,
More than the churches whose dogmas are private vendettas made sacred,
More than the tall buildings and sprawling factories
Where men wear chains.
You are a lonely prostitute who speaks to me as I pass,
And I smile at you because I am a lonely man.”
― James Kavanaugh, quote from There Are Men Too Gentle to Live Among Wolves

“Under pressure, men drink alcohol and invade other countries; women eat chocolate and go shopping.”
― Allan Pease, quote from Why Men Don't Listen and Women Can't Read Maps: How We're Different and What to Do About It

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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.

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