The Adolescent
Quotes from the Book
There are a lot of people who haven't got the brains for their educations.
15
In my case, self-absorption is completely justified. I have never discovered any other subject quite so worthy of my attention.
12
Frightened people try to defend themselves by accusing others of their own motives.
4
The magnificence of my skeleton is hidden by the weight of my flesh.
4
My mind was clear and penetrating at the time, for it was midnight, the hour at which I am most brave and most free.
2
It's when you have friends that you can afford to be lonely. When you know a lot of people, loneliness becomes a luxury.
2
Then, as the final contradiction, there remains the truth that she made a man of him as fully as man could be made of that stubborn clay. And when that frail manhood is threatened, when her own womanliness demands more than he can give, his malice seeks her destruction. But she is carved from Adam's rib, indestructible as legend, and no man will ever aim his malice with sufficient accuracy to destroy her.
2
Why do you lie to me, darling? You know that I’ll stick with you to the end.” I picked up a cigarette. He hurried to light it. “Don’t do that,” I said. “Why not?” “You can’t call me a murderer and light my cigarette.
2
Life itself is contradictory. Only death is consistent.
2
He wanted to protect his precious stick from my profane hands, so he brought out his malice without the garments of wit or beauty.
1
the gentlemanly arts were not nearly so useful as proficiency in double-dealing, bootlicking, and pushing yourself ahead of the other fellow.
1
Su enigma privado era respecto a la respuesta de esa pregunta que siempre atormentó a los enamorados: "¿Qué pudo ver ella en ese otro hombre?
In my case, self-absorption is completely justified.
even if he’s a dick, you’ve met a man.
He came of a race of drinkers who look contemptuously upon an alcoholic content of twelve percent, unaware that the fermented grape works its enchantments more subtly than the distilled spirits of grain. I do not imply that he was drunk; let us say, rather, that the Tears of Christ opened his heart.
A smile couldn't be brought into court as evidence. You couldn't arrest a man because he had trembled. Brown eyes had stolen a peep at gray eyes, so what? The tone of a voice was something that died with a word.
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About Vera Caspary
About the book
Laura Hunt was the ideal modern woman: beautiful, elegant, highly ambitious, and utterly mysterious. No man could resist her charms—not even the hardboiled NYPD detective sent to find out who turned her into a faceless corpse. As this tough cop probes the mystery of Laura's death, he becomes obsessed with her strange power. Soon he realizes he's been seduced by a dead woman—or has he?
Laura won lasting renown as an Academy Award-nominated 1944 film, the greatest noir romance of all time. Vera Caspary's equally haunting novel is remarkable for its stylish, hardboiled writing, its electrifying plot twists, and its darkly complex characters—including a woman who stands as the ultimate femme fatale.
Book details
- First published
- 1942
- Author
- Vera Caspary
- Genre
- Mystery
- Goodreads rating
- 3.96 (4k ratings)
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