Quotes from Knockemstiff

“I'm beginning to believe that anything I do to extend my life is just going to be outweighed by the agony of living it.”
― Donald Ray Pollock, quote from Knockemstiff

“A lot of people get the wrong impression, think there's something romantic or tragic about hitting bottom.”
― Donald Ray Pollock, quote from Knockemstiff

“When you first heard him talking about it, you'd figure he was batshit crazy, but really, he was just trying to fill up his days so he didn't have to think about what a fucking mess he had made of everything. It's the same for most of us; forgetting our lives might be the best we'll ever do.”
― Donald Ray Pollock, quote from Knockemstiff

“I don't know,' Del said. 'I read this book. I guess you could say we were looking for a better life.'
'Did you find it?' the Fish Stick Girl asked.
'No, it was just a goddamn book. I ain't read one since.”
― Donald Ray Pollock, quote from Knockemstiff

“The glass door swung open and two big, homely women walked in looking guilty. They were the kind of women who, out of sheer loneliness, end up doing kinky stuff with candy bars and wake up with apple fritters in their hair.”
― Donald Ray Pollock, quote from Knockemstiff

“Look, girls don't care how many push-ups you can do. They just want to get high and wear flowers in their hair. Maybe steal a car.”
― Donald Ray Pollock, quote from Knockemstiff

“Six months ago, her old doctor at the Henry J. Hamilton Rehabilitation Centee had put her back on all her medications after somebody disguised in a paper bag had tried to strangle her in front of the Tobacco Friendly. Though she described the sack perfectly, even drew a picture of it down at the station, the cops never found a single suspect.”
― Donald Ray Pollock, quote from Knockemstiff

“The Oxys filled holes in me I hadn't realized were empty. It was, at least for those first few months, a wonderful way to be disabled. I felt blessed.”
― Donald Ray Pollock, quote from Knockemstiff

“Jimmy's eyes would turn as red and sticky as candy, and his head would fall back against the seat in a dream. If he were lucky tonight, maybe he would see something that he hadn't seen before. And then it would be my turn.”
― Donald Ray Pollock, quote from Knockemstiff

“A damp, gray sky covered southern Ohio like the skin of a corpse.”
― Donald Ray Pollock, quote from Knockemstiff

“You can't be a pussy all your life Todd. Someday you're just gonna have to say fuck it.”
― Donald Ray Pollock, quote from Knockemstiff

“Because of who we were, I already knew what we would do.”
― Donald Ray Pollock, quote from Knockemstiff

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Popular quotes

“Ko duša izbere navpično pot, ko izbere, da se bo razvijala zavestno z odgovorno izbiro, postane sposobna osvoboditi se svojih lastnih negativnosti. Sega po avtentični moči. Prevzame tako rekoč lastno negativnost, nezavedne namene svojih razdvojenih delov svoje osebnosti. Ko osebnost postane zavestna, ko se razvija v mnogočutno osebnost in postaja integrirana, se frekvenca njene zavesti poveča. Postane celovita. Njene negativnosti odpadejo in kakovost nejne zavesti postane svetlejša. Zdaj že lahko gleda sebe in tiste okoli sebe s sočutnostjo in jasnostjo, z modrostjo svoje duše.”
― Gary Zukav, quote from The Seat of the Soul

“Please go outside. I really don’t want to hurt you.” Levi pulled up short. “No. Not toward me. To the door. The door!” She squealed, and Levi bounded forward, taking the stairs in a single leap. He threw the door wide and brought up his fists, ready to take on the unseen threat. “Get it off! Get it off!” She held her skirts away from her body and twisted her head to the side as if trying to put as much distance as possible between her and the invader clinging to the dark green fabric of her dress. A cockroach. A big ugly one—three, maybe four inches long, its wings still slightly askew. “Please.” Miss Spencer whimpered, and the sound galvanized him to action. Levi opened his hand and swiped the oversized beetle from her skirt. Then, before the thing could scamper into a dark corner, he crushed it with a stomp of his boot, wincing at the audible crunch that echoed in the now-quiet hall. He scraped his sole over the carcass like a horse pawing the ground, and sent the bug sailing out the door. “Did you have to squish him?” Levi jerked his eyes to Eden Spencer’s face. What had she expected him to do? Tie a leash around its neck and take it for a walk? “Don’t get me wrong,” she said, as she raised a shaky hand to fidget with the button at her collar. “I appreciate your removing that beastly insect from my person.” She shuddered slightly, and her gaze dropped to the darkened spot on the hardwood floor that evidenced the roach’s demise. “However, I can’t abide violence against any of God’s creatures. Even horrid, wing-sprouting behemoths.”
― Karen Witemeyer, quote from To Win Her Heart

“Sometimes the hand pulls the puppet, sometimes the puppet pulls the hand, but the string runs both ways.”
― Daniel Abraham, quote from A Shadow in Summer

“How ironic, she thought, as she fell to her certain death, that at that moment she would have given anything to be a giant goose again.”
― Michael Buckley, quote from The Everafter War

“It was in a place where the days would go by and surprise anyone that they were over.”
― Eudora Welty, quote from The Collected Stories

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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.