Quotes from In the Skin of a Lion

“Everyone has to scratch on walls somewhere or they go crazy”
― Michael Ondaatje, quote from In the Skin of a Lion

“The joyful will stoop with sorrow, and when you have gone to the earth I will let my hair grow long for your sake, I will wander through the wilderness in the skin of a lion”
― Michael Ondaatje, quote from In the Skin of a Lion

“The first sentence of every novel should be: Trust me, this will take time but there is order here, very faint, very human.”
― Michael Ondaatje, quote from In the Skin of a Lion

“Before the real city could be seen it had to be imagined, the way rumours and tall tales were a kind of charting.”
― Michael Ondaatje, quote from In the Skin of a Lion

“He came to this country like a torch on fire and he swallowed air as he walked forward and he gave out light”
― Michael Ondaatje, quote from In the Skin of a Lion

“Nicholas Temelcoff is famous on the bridge, a daredevil. He is given all the difficult jobs and he takes them. He descends into the air with no fear. He is a solitary. He assembles ropes, brushes the tackle and pulley at his waist, and falls off the bridge like a diver over the edge of a boat.”
― Michael Ondaatje, quote from In the Skin of a Lion

“The rain comes through their thin cotton clothes against their muscles. Alice sweeps back her wet hair. A sudden flinging of sheet lighting and Clara sees Alice subliminal in movement almost rising up into the air, shirt removed, so her body can meet the rain, the rest of her ascent lost to darkness till the next brief flutter of light when they hold a birch tree in their clasped hands, lean back and swing within the rain.
They crawl delirious together in the blackness. There is no moon. There is the moon flower in its small power of accuracy, like a compass, pointing to where the moon is, so they can bay towards its absence.”
― Michael Ondaatje, quote from In the Skin of a Lion

“There was a time when I could have slept with his friend Briffa, for instance. Around him the air was always fraught with possibilities.”
― Michael Ondaatje, quote from In the Skin of a Lion

“Commissioner Harris at the far end stared along the mad pathway. This was his first child and it had already become a murderer.”
― Michael Ondaatje, quote from In the Skin of a Lion

“He can think now only of objects. Something alive, just one small grey bird on a branch, will break his heart.”
― Michael Ondaatje, quote from In the Skin of a Lion

“Trust me, this will take time but there is order here, very faint, very human.”
― Michael Ondaatje, quote from In the Skin of a Lion

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“تساءلت عن الحافز الذى دفع الامريكيين لمقاومة الاستعمار البريطانى وعن ارادة تجاوزت الحدود لقد كان كثير من زعماء الثورة على ثراء كبير فما الذى دفعهم للمخاطرة باعمالهم وتجارتهم وعض الايدى التى تطعمهم ؟ والمخاطرة بحياتهم ؟ لاشك كان لدى كل منهم اسبابه الخاصة لكن لابد وان قوة جماعية وقفت وراءهم وقدر من الطاقة والحافز وشرارة اذكت الطاقات الفردية فى تلك اللحظة الفريدة من التاريخ
ثم ادركت كنه تلك المحفزات : انها الكلمات
اشعل تلك الشرارة سرد القصة الحقيقية للامبراطورية ونظامها التجارى الانانى والمدمر لذاته فى نهاية المطاف واشعل فضح المعنى الخفى عبر كلمات رجال مثل توم بين وتوماس جيفرسون خيال المواطنين وفتح قلوبهم وعقولهم وبدأ سكان المستعمرات البريطانية فى امريكا فى التساؤل عن السبب وحين فعلوا ذلك اكتشفوا حقيقة جديدة قطعت الطريق على اساليب الخداع والكذب لقد ادركوا الحقيقة الكامنة وراء المظهر الخارجى وفهموا طريقة الامبراطورية البريطانية فى استغلالهم وخداعهم واستعبادهم
ادركوا ان سادتهم الانجليز شكلوا نظاما ثم تمكنوا من اقناع معظم الناس كذبا بان ذلك افضل نظام يمكن للبشرية ان تصل اليه وان بلوغ عالم افضل مرهون بوضع كافة الموارد تحت تصرف ملك انجلترا وان منهج الامبراطورية فى التجارة والسياسة هو الاكثر فعالية وهو الاسلوب الانسانى لمساعدة الاغلبية الكاسحة من البشر بينما كانت الحقيقة تكمن فى ان ذلك النظام لايثرى سوى الاقلية على حساب الاغلبية لقد صمدت هذه الكذبة وما نجم عنها من استغلال وامتدت عقودا من الزمن حتى بدأت ثلة من الفلاسفة ورجال الاعمال والفلاحين والصيادين والمرابطين على الحدود والكتاب والوعاظ يتحدثون عن الحقيقة .”
― John Perkins, quote from Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

“Then the universe rocks. The very fabric of reality is rent.”
― Raymond E. Feist, quote from A Darkness At Sethanon

“«Как же, так я тебе и поверил! — хмыкнул про себя Воробушек. — Расскажи еще, что над озером ежи летают!»”
― Erin Hunter, quote from Outcast

“The light will return, just like the sun came back, but it will be your light, and yours to control.”
― Erin Hunter, quote from Eclipse

“You don't have a drop of paint on you," I said. "Why is that?"
Ranger smiled, liking that he hadn't gotten hit. "I guess they were hunting pussy."
"But I walked into the Motherfuckers room."
"Yeah, but babe, your clearly pussy.”
― Janet Evanovich, quote from Finger Lickin' Fifteen

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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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