Bruce Coville · 176 pages
Rating: (16.2K votes)
“There's lots of kinds of chains. You can't see most of them, the one's that bind folks together. But people build them, link by link. Sometimes the links are weak, snap like this one did. That's another funny thing, now that I think of it. Sometimes when you mend a chain, the place where you fix it is strongest of all.”
― Bruce Coville, quote from Into the Land of the Unicorns
“Family isn't blood," she said bitterly, continuing to back away. "Family is who loves you, who takes care of you.”
― Bruce Coville, quote from Into the Land of the Unicorns
“Sometimes when you mend a chain, the place where you fix it is strongest of all... Never was a chain that couldn't be broken. Sometimes its even a good idea.”
― Bruce Coville, quote from Into the Land of the Unicorns
“Funny thing about chains," he said. "They're everywhere, once you know how to look for them. I like chains.
When Cara laughed at this, he shook his chest, causing the hundreds of golden links that hung there to sparkle in the firelight.
"There's lots of kinds of chains," he continued. "You can't see most of them, the ones that bind folks together. But people build them, link by link, Sometimes the links are weak, snap like this one did. That's another funny thing, now that I think of it. Sometimes when you mend a chain, the place where you fix it is strongest of all."
As he spoke, he held up the chain, which was whole again. Passing the amulet to Cara, he said, "Never was a chain that couldn't be broken. Sometimes it's even a good idea.”
― Bruce Coville, quote from Into the Land of the Unicorns
“Chains," said the Tinker, coming up behind her. "They bind us, whether we want them to or not. But a heart without chains would have nothing to hold it, might simply blow away.”
― Bruce Coville, quote from Into the Land of the Unicorns
“I like fixing things," he said as he worked. "The world is always breaking, here and there, this way and that. Fix a bit of it, and I feel like I'm helping.”
― Bruce Coville, quote from Into the Land of the Unicorns
“She had seen her son for the first time, in this place, when he was a child of eight or nine. She remembered that day. He ran along the path near the cottage to which she had been assigned, calling to his friends, laughing, his unkempt hair bright in the sunlight. “Gabe!” she heard a boy call; but she would have known him without hearing it. It was the same smile she remembered, the same silvery laugh. She had moved forward in that moment, intending to rush to him, to greet and embrace him. Perhaps she would make the silly face, the one with which they had once mimicked each other. But when she started eagerly toward him, she forgot her own weakness; her dragging foot caught on a stone and she stumbled clumsily. Quickly she righted herself, but in that moment she saw him glance toward her, then look away in disinterest. As if looking through his eyes, she perceived her own withered skin, her sparse gray hair, the awkward gait with which she moved. She stayed silent, and turned away, thinking.”
― Lois Lowry, quote from Son
“But that means the pups are starving to death, too. Not just the big rats,” said Gregor. “Doesn’t that bother you?” “Of course it bothers me!” Mareth shook his head and sighed. “It is so hard for you to know what it is like for us here, Gregor.”
― Suzanne Collins, quote from Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods
“This kindness, this stupid kindness, is what is most truly human in a human being. It is what sets man apart, the highest achievement of his soul. No, it says, life is not evil!
This kindness is both senseless and wordless. It is instinctive, blind. When Christianity clothed it in the teachings of the Church Fathers, it began to fade; its kernel became a husk. It remains potent only while it is dumb and senseless, hidden in the living darkness of the human heart – before it becomes a tool or commodity in the hands of preachers, before its crude ore is forged into the gilt coins of holiness. It is as simple as life itself. Even the teachings of Jesus deprived it of its strength.
But, as I lost faith in good, I began to lose faith even in kindness. It seemed as beautiful and powerless as dew. What use was it if it was not contagious?
How can one make a power of it without losing it, without turning it into a husk as the Church did? Kindness is powerful only while it is powerless. If Man tries to give it power, it dims, fades away, loses itself, vanishes.”
― Vasily Grossman, quote from Life and Fate
“It would be like a Hardy novel, before it all goes wrong.”
― Kate Atkinson, quote from Case Histories
“The very essence of romance is uncertainty.”
― Oscar Wilde, quote from The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays
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