Quotes from Parrot and Olivier in America

“I have traveled widely. I have seen this country in its infancy. I tell you what it will become. The public squares will be occupied by an uneducated class who will not be able to quote a line of Shakespeare.”
― Peter Carey, quote from Parrot and Olivier in America

“I had known loneliness before, and emptiness upon the moor, but I had never been a NOTHING, a nothing floating on a nothing, known by nothing, lonelier and colder than the space between the stars. It was more frightening than being dead.”
― Peter Carey, quote from Parrot and Olivier in America

“What a torture to hear that a life had been available to me that I had not been man enough to live.”
― Peter Carey, quote from Parrot and Olivier in America

“Would you rather have the lords and nobles back? What is Democracy for? Not so we can rob each other. Or cheat.' I said cheat and felt the teeth in it, the cleat, the cut, the eat.”
― Peter Carey, quote from Parrot and Olivier in America

“The seamen had whitewashed the smoky ceilings of the ward, and that dear homely smell carried the vividness of thatch and lumpy walls and stew given from the goodness of a stranger's heart. But that was all there was of comfort, and the salt air had turned from cold to warm in the passing of a life, an afternoon.”
― Peter Carey, quote from Parrot and Olivier in America

“[Democracy] is as without plans as it is without energy, as incapable of harm as it is incapable of good. It is powerless and passive. It lets society marcher tout seul without trying to direct it. Well, in the present state of affairs, it is perfect, no? In order to prosper? America does not need either leadership or deep-laid plans or great efforts, but liberty and still more liberty. The reason for this is that no one yet has any interest in abusing liberty. but wait, monsieur. It may take a century but le fou viendra.”
― Peter Carey, quote from Parrot and Olivier in America

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“ربما ليس هناك بوذا للعجائز لكى يبتهلوا إليه لكن فتاة عارية جميلة يضمونها بين أذرعهم ذارفين دموعا باردة غارقين فى شهقات قوية منتحبين , فتاة غافلة عن كل شىء ولن تستفيق مطلقاً تمنحهم حريتهم المطلقة فى الندم حريتهم المطلقة فى النحيب دون أن يشعروا بأى ندم أو طعن كبريائهم أفلا يمكن إذا إعتبار الجميلات النائمات من هذه الوجهة إلهات مثل بوذا ونابضات بالحياة فوق ذلك ؟ أليست رائحة فتاة شابة وبشرتها تكفيراً للعجائز التاعسين وتعزية لهم !؟ ص 91”
― Yasunari Kawabata, quote from House of the Sleeping Beauties and Other Stories

“The more a thing is perfect, the more it feels pleasure and pain.”
― Dante Alighieri, quote from Dante's Divine Comedy Set: Three-Volume Set

“we are waiting and waiting and doing nothing, until it is too late, and they commit crimes so serious that all society wants to do is punish instead of rehabilitate.”
― Edward Humes, quote from No Matter How Loud I Shout: A Year in the Life of Juvenile Court

“Is there a difference between loving someone and being in love with someone?”
― Estelle Maskame, quote from Did I Mention I Need You? (Did I Mention I Love You

“Ei, tämä ei ollut eskatologinen, profeettojen jo kauan sitten ennustama traaginen finaali, jumalallisen näytelmän viimeinen näytös. Ei, tämä oli pikemminkin pyöräilyakrobaattinen sirkusfinaali, taikurimainen hupsis-loppu, jota säesti kaikkien edistyksen henkien kättentaputus. Melkein kaikki uskoivat siihen hetkeäkään epäröimättä. Tyrmistyneet ja vastalauseita huutavat karjuttiin heti paikalla mataliksi. Miksi he eivät ymmärtäneet, että tämä oli yksinkertaisesti ennen kuulumaton tilaisuus, äärimmäisen edistyksellinen maailmanloppu, vapaamielinen päätös, ajan huipulla oleva, korkeinta viisautta syvästi kunnioitava ja suojeleva tapahtuma? Sitä tulkittiin haltiokkaasti, sitä kuvattiin irti reväistyille muistikirjan lehdille, selitettiin, että se oli kumoamaton; vastustajille ja epäilijöille jaettiin korvapuusteja. Kuvalehdissä ilmestyi kokosivun piirroksia, kuvitelmia katastrofista, vaikuttavia näyttämösovituksia. Näimme väkirikkaita kaupunkeja yöllisen pakokauhun vallassa, valomerkkejä ja valoilmiöitä kipunoivan taivaan alla. Etäisen meteorin hämmästyttävät vaikutukset olivat jo kaikkien nähtävissä. Pyrstötähti, jonka vertauskuvallinen kärki tähtäsi heltiämättä maapalloa, leijali liikkumattomana taivaalla ja lähestyi maata niin ja niin monen kilometrin nopeudella sekunnissa. Lakit ja hatut lentelivät ilmaan kuin sirkusilveilyssä, hiukset nousivat pystyyn, sateenvarjot aukenivat itsestään ja kaljut paljastuivat lentoon lehahtavien peruukkien alta - ja yllä oli musta, jättimäinen taivas, jonka laella välkkyi kakkien tähtien yhtäaikainen hälytys.”
― Bruno Schulz, quote from The Street of Crocodiles and Other 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.