Quotes from Narrow Rooms

James Purdy ·  185 pages

Rating: (163 votes)


“I don’t think of people as queer or straight,” the Doc said. “Not when you’re as old as I. And I don’t think God does either.”
“I didn’t know you believed in God, Doc,” Vance said.”
― James Purdy, quote from Narrow Rooms


“For imagine having somebody beside you day and night loving you and forgiving you and petting you forever and ever, that must be a better description of hell than being put into a boiling lake or cauldron of ice that burnt your black.”
― James Purdy, quote from Narrow Rooms


“Nobody can cause another man evil unless the second party involved allows him to.”
― James Purdy, quote from Narrow Rooms


“Behind this story so far is another story, as behind the girders of an ancient bridge is the skeleton of a child which superstition says keeps the bridge standing.”
― James Purdy, quote from Narrow Rooms


“Don’t shoot me, Sidney, I love you.”
He had shot him right through the words that still haunted him today, the most perfect words ever said to him.”
― James Purdy, quote from Narrow Rooms



“My idea of heaven is to be hunting with you in some beautiful park with mountains like here at home but where we won’t need guns or prey but we will just walk together arm in arm in this good world and be by ourselves always together forever and a day.”
― James Purdy, quote from Narrow Rooms


“I have wrote my name in hell,” Brian McFee had said as he was dying on the sawdust of the floor in the Bent Ridge Tavern.”
― James Purdy, quote from Narrow Rooms


“Not all princes he had read about in books of legends are beautiful and noble and carry their heads high.”
― James Purdy, quote from Narrow Rooms


About the author

James Purdy
Born place: in Hicksville, Ohio, The United States
Born date July 17, 1914
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“I love you so much … I don’t want to live a single moment without you at my side.”
― Lara Adrian, quote from Veil of Midnight


“What's the one thing Evil can never have... and the one thing Good can never do without?”
― Soman Chainani, quote from The School for Good and Evil


“What determines how we remember history and which elements are preserved and penetrate the collective consciousness? If historical novels stir your interest, pursue the facts, history, memories, and personal testimonies available. These are the shoulders that historical fiction sits upon. When the survivors are gone we must not let the truth disappear with them. Please, give them a voice.”
― Ruta Sepetys, quote from Salt to the Sea


“You know what's awkward?" David asked, the corner of his mouth lifting.
"Our entire existences?"
Now the grin was real. "That," he acknowledged. "And when you make a big, dramatic gesture because you think you're going to die, and then you-"
"Don't die," I finished for him, and he nodded.
"Exactly. Not that I'm not one hundred percent psyched that we didn't die, but...”
― Rachel Hawkins, quote from Rebel Belle


“Welcome to life in a small town,' Jack said dryly. 'Where everybody makes it their business to put their noses in yours.”
― Cinda Williams Chima, quote from The Wizard Heir


Interesting books

Not That Kind of Girl
(9.8K)
Not That Kind of Gir...
by Siobhan Vivian
In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon
(2.1K)
In the Buddha's Word...
by Bhikkhu Bodhi
The Case of the Missing Servant
(6.9K)
The Case of the Miss...
by Tarquin Hall
Growing Up Bin Laden: Osama's Wife and Son Take Us Inside Their Secret World
(2.7K)
Growing Up Bin Laden...
by Jean Sasson
The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America
(5.8K)
The Inconvenient Ind...
by Thomas King
The Mourning After
(2.1K)
The Mourning After
by Adriane Leigh

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.