Quotes from Mr. Sammler's Planet

“Being right was largely a matter of explanations.”
― Saul Bellow, quote from Mr. Sammler's Planet

“The terms which, in his inmost heart, each man knows. As I know mine. As all know. For that is the truth of it — that we all know, God, that we know, that we know, we know, we know.”
― Saul Bellow, quote from Mr. Sammler's Planet

“Greatness without models? Inconceivable. One could not be the thing itself - Reality. One must be satisfied with symbols. Make it the object of imitation to reach and release the high qualities. Make peace therefore with intermediacy and representations. Otherwise the individual must be the failure he now sees and knows himself to be.”
― Saul Bellow, quote from Mr. Sammler's Planet

“The Indian temperament is so excitable, you know.”
― Saul Bellow, quote from Mr. Sammler's Planet

“But fathers are soft on daughters. Look how Dad favors Angela. He gave her ten times more. Because she reminded him of Mae West. He was always smiling at her boobs. He wasn't aware of it. Mother and I saw it.”
― Saul Bellow, quote from Mr. Sammler's Planet

“He was looking for the Knight of Faith, the real prodigy. That real prodigy, having set its relations with the infinite, was entirely at home in the finite. Able to carry the jewel of faith, making the motions of the infinite, and as a result needing nothing but the finite and the usual. Whereas others sought the extraordinary in the world. Or wished to be what was gaped at.”
― Saul Bellow, quote from Mr. Sammler's Planet

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Popular quotes

“I’m not free, my lady,” he says slowly. “I can no more wander off and do as I will than you can.You think of having choices like people think of flying. They see a hawk soaring and hovering and they tell themselves how nice it would be to fly. But pigeons can fly, and sparrows too. No one imagines being a sparrow though. No one wants that.”
― Melinda Salisbury, quote from The Sin Eater’s Daughter

“Fortune was not a house full of gold and jade, but something much more.”
― Grace Lin, quote from Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

“Надничайки над рамото на Жан-Сол, тя видя на листа заглавието "Енциклопедия", том деветнайсети. Положи свенливо ръка върху неговата. Той престана да пише. - Чак дотук ли сте стигнали? - попита Ализ.
- Да - отвърна Жан-Сол. - Искате да говорите с мен ли?
- Искам да ви помоля да не я издавате - рече тя.
- Трудно ще бъде - каза Жан-Сол. - Хората я очакват.
Той си свали очилата, духна върху стъклата им и пак си ги сложи. Очите му не се съзираха.
- Разбира се - потвърди Ализ. - Всъщност бих желала просто да отложите публикуването.
- О, ако е само това, може нещо да се направи.
- Ще трябва да го отложите с десет години.
- Така ли?
- Да. Десет години или повече, естествено. - Знаете ли, по-добре ще е хората да спестят малко пари, за да могат да си я купят.
- Ще е доста затормозяваща за четене - заяви Жан-Сол Партр. - Аз самият се тормозя, докато я пиша: лявата ми китка се е схванала от непрекъснатото притискане на листа.
- Съчувствам ви - промълви Ализ.
- Задето ми се е схванала китката?
- Не, задето отказвате да отложите издаването.
- Защо?
- Ще ви обясня. Шик харчи всичките си пари, за да закупува вашите произведения и вече е останал без грош.
- По-хубаво да си купува други неща - рече Жан-Сол. - Аз лично никога не купувам книгите си.
- Той харесва вашите творби.
- Това е негово право - заяви Жан-Сол. - Той сам е направил своя избор.
- Мисля, че прекалено се е ангажирал - отвърна Ализ. - Аз също направих своя избор, но съм свободна, понеже той повече не иска да живее с мен, така че ще ви убия, щом не искате да отложите издаването.
- Вие ще ме лишите от средства за съществуване - промълви Жан-Сол. - Как ще ми изплащат авторски права при положение, че бъда мъртъв?
- Ваша си работа - каза Ализ. - Не мога да се съобразявам с всичко. Най-важното за мен е да ви убия.
- Но вие, предполагам, ще се съгласите, че за мен аргументите ви са неприемливи - възрази Жан-Сол.
- Съгласявам се - рече Ализ, отвори чантата си и измъкна оттам сърцеизтръгвача на Шик, който няколко дни по-рано бе взела от чекмеджето на бюрото му.
- Бихте ли си разкопчали яката? - помоли тя.
- Слушайте - каза Жан-Сол, като свали очилата си, - това според мен е идиотщина.
Той разкопча яката си. Ализ събра всичките си сили и с решителен жест заби сърцеизтръгвача в гърдите на Партр. Той се втренчи в нея и започна бързо да умира.”
― Boris Vian, quote from Foam of the Daze: L'Ecume Des Jours

“A game: say something. Close your eyes and say something. Anything, a number, a name. Like this (she closes her eyes): Two, two what? Two women. What do they look like? Wearing black. Where are they? In a park. . . . And then, what are they doing? Try it, it's so easy, why don't you want to play? You know, that's how I talk to myself when I'm alone, I tell myself all kinds of stories. And not only silly stories: actually, I live this way altogether.”
― André Breton, quote from Nadja

“I've had a weird couple of weeks, you know?"
"I completely know".
"But I- I mean, I'm not totally happy, but there's no way I'd go back to my old obvious self! I like it here. I like all the... confusion and heartbreak".
"It wasn't that bad... was it?"
"Scott... yes, it was. But I feel like I've learned some stuff along the way. I know things now".”
― Bryan Lee O'Malley, quote from Scott Pilgrim, Volume 3: Scott Pilgrim & The Infinite Sadness

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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.

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.