“Scared is what you're feeling. Brave is what you're doing.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room
“In the world I notice persons are nearly always stressed and have no time...I don't know how persons with jobs do the jobs and all the living as well...I guess the time gets spread very thin like butter all over the world, the roads and houses and playgrounds and stores, so there's only a little smear of time on each place, then everyone has to hurry on to the next bit.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room
“People don't always want to be with people. It gets tiring.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room
“If I was made of cake I'd eat myself before somebody else could.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room
“Stories are a different kind of true.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room
“When I was a little kid I thought like a little kid, but now I'm five I know everything”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room
“Goodbye, Room." I wave up at Skylight. "Say goodbye," I tell Ma. "Goodbye, Room."
Ma says it but on mute.
I look back one more time. It's like a crater, a hole where something happened. Then we go out the door.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room
“I've seen the world and I'm tired now.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room
“I think buddy is man talk for sweetie.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room
“Sometimes when persons say definitely it sounds actually less true.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room
“People move around so much in the world, things get lost.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room
“I think about Old Nick carrying me into the truck, I'm dizzy like I'm going to
fall down.
"Scared is what you're feeling," says Ma, "but brave is what you're doing."
"Huh?"
"Scaredybrave."
"Scave."
Word sandwiches always make her laugh but I wasn't being funny.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room
“The world is always changing brightness and hotness and soundness, I never know how it's going to be the next minute.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room
“[E]verywhere I'm looking at kids, adults mostly don't seem to like them, not even the parents do. They call the kids gorgeous and so cute, they make the kids do the thing all over again so they can take a photo, but they don't want to actually play with them, they'd rather drink coffee talking to other adults. Sometimes there's a small kid crying and the Ma of it doesn't even hear.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room
“This is a bad story.”
“Sorry. I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have told you.”
“No, you should,” I say.
“But—”
“I don’t want there to be bad stories and me not know them.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room
“I remember manners, that's when people are scared to make other persons mad.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room
“When I tell her what I’m thinking and she tells me what she’s thinking, our each ideas jumping into the other’s head, like coulouring blue crayon on top of yellow that makes green.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room
“It’s called mind over matter. If we don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” When a bit of me hurts, I always mind.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room
“A lot of the world seems to repeat itself”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room
“In the world I notice persons are nearly always stressed and have no time. Even Grandma often says that, but she and Steppa don't have jobs, so I don't know how persons with jobs do the jobs and all the living as well. In Room me and Ma had time for everything. I guess the time gets spread very thin like butter over all the world, the roads and houses and playgrounds and stores, so there's only a little smear of time on each place, then everyone has to hurry on to the next bit.
Also everywhere I'm looking at kids, adults mostly don't seem to like them, not even the parents do. They call the kids gorgeous and so cute, they make the kids do the thing all over again so they can take a photo, but they don't want to actually play with them, they'd rather drink coffee talking to other adults. Sometimes there's a small kid crying and the Ma of it doesn't even hear.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room
“I look back one more time. It's like a crater, a hole where something happened.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room
“Me and Ma have a deal, we're going to try everything one time so we know what we like.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room
“There's not a thing wrong with you, you're right the whole way through.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room
“Maybe I’m a human, but I’m a me-and-Ma as well.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room
“When I was four I thought everything in TV was just TV, then I was five and Ma unlied about lots of it being pictures of real and Outside being totally real. Now I’m in Outside but it turns out lots of it isn’t real at all.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room
“You know who you belong to, Jack?”
“Yeah.”
“Yourself.”
He’s wrong, actually, I belong to Ma.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room
“Outside has everything. Whenever I think of a thing now like skis or fireworks or islands or elevators or yo-yos, I have to remember they're real, they're actually happening in Outside all together. It makes my head tired. And people too, firefighters teachers burglars babies saints soccer players and all sorts, they're all really in Outside. I'm not there, though, me and Ma, we're the only ones not there. Are we still real?”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room
“Ma's still nodding. "You're the one who matters, though. Just you."
I shake my head till it's wobbling because there's no just me.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room
Emma Donoghue
Born place: in Dublin, Ireland
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“The truth is that when one is still a child-or even if one is grown up- and has been well fed, and has slept long and softly and warm; when one has gone to sleep in the midst of a fairy story, and has wakened to find it real, one cannot be unhappy or even look as if one were; and one could not, if one tried, keep a glow of joy out of one's eyes.”
― Frances Hodgson Burnett, quote from A Little Princess
“Oh Jake," Brett said, "We could have had such a damned good time together."
Ahead was a mounted policeman in khaki directing traffic. He raised his baton. The car slowed suddenly, pressing Brett against me.
Yes," I said. "Isn't it pretty to think so?”
― Ernest Hemingway, quote from The Sun Also Rises (Fiesta)
“My life is a rather grim one. One day I shall perhaps describe it to you in great detail.”
― John Kennedy Toole, quote from A Confederacy of Dunces
“Don't fight them anymore.I'm going to go with them."
"No. I won't let them take you."
"You have to," I begged.
He was breathing hard, every part of him braced and ready to attack. We locked gazes, and a thousand messages seemed to flow between us as the old electricity crackled in the air.”
― Richelle Mead, quote from Spirit Bound
“You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby.
But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”
― quote from The Velveteen Rabbit
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