“I think fiction allows us to sit for a while with people we would rather not meet.”
― Uwem Akpan, quote from Say You're One of Them
“Gerçek bir demokraside, aptal bir şef kimsenin adına konuşamaz!”
― Uwem Akpan, quote from Say You're One of Them
“Monica, "Asker adam, dinle," dedi, elleriyle insanlara gülmeyi kesmelerini işaret etti. "Asker adam, gidip onur yiyecek, vicdan mı içeceksin? Karın ve çocukların, elin boş döndüğünü görünce seni mutlu mesut karşılayacaklar mı? Sana daha önce de söylemedik mi? Sen delisin. Yalnızca deliler orduda albay olup ülkeden para çalmadan döner.”
― Uwem Akpan, quote from Say You're One of Them
“Yarışı kazanmak ayak sayısıyla ilgili olsa, kırkayak, köpekleri kolaylıkla yenerdi.”
― Uwem Akpan, quote from Say You're One of Them
“Listen, dis foreign TV channels dey spoil de image of our country. Dese white stations dey make billions of dollars to sell your war and blood to de world… We no bad like dis. OK, why dem no dey show corpses of deir white people during crisis for TV? Abi, people no dey kill for America or Europe?”
“You dey speak grammar!” someone shouted. “Wetin concern us wid America and Europe? Abeg, give us cable TV.”
“Remove dis toilet pictures!” said another.
“So our barracks be toilet now?” the police answered. "What an insult!“
"You na mad mad police,” Monica said.
“Ok, cable TV no be for free anymore!” the police said.
“But it’s our pictures we are watching on cable TV,” Madam Aniema said. “Why should we pay you to see ourselves and our people?”
The police answered, “Because government dey complain say cable TV dey misrepresent dis religious crisis.”
― Uwem Akpan, quote from Say You're One of Them
Uwem Akpan
Born place: in Ikot Akpan Eda, Nigeria
Born date May 19, 1971
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“Your life is not your own. Keep your hands off it.”
― Arthur Conan Doyle, quote from The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes
“Phaethon asked: “Do you think there is something wrong with the Sophotechs? We are Manorials, father! We let Rhadamanthus control our finances and property, umpire our disputes, teach our children, design our thoughtscapes, and even play matchmaker to find us wives and husbands!”
“Son, the Sophotechs may be sufficient to advise the Parliament on laws and rules. Laws are a matter of logic and common sense. Specially designed human-thinking versions, like Rhadamanthus, can tell us how to fulfill our desires and balance our account books. Those are questions of strategy, of efficient allocation of resources and time. But the Sophotechs, they cannot choose our desires for us. They cannot guide our culture, our values, our tastes. That is a question of the spirit.”
“Then what would you have us do? Would you change our laws?”
“Our mores, not our laws. There are many things which are repugnant, deadly to the spirit, and self-destructive, but which law should not forbid. Addiction, self-delusion, self-destruction, slander, perversion, love of ugliness. How can we discourage such things without the use of force? It was in response to this need that the College of Hortators evolved. Peacefully, by means of boycotts, public protests, denouncements, and shunnings, our society can maintain her sanity against the dangers to our spirit, to our humanity, to which such unboundried liberty, and such potent technology, exposes us.”
(...) But Phaethon certainly did not want to hear a lecture, not today. “Why are you telling me all this? What is the point?”
“Phaethon, I will let you pass through those doors, and, once through, you will have at your command all the powers and perquisites I myself possess. The point of my story is simple. The paradox of liberty of which you spoke before applies to our entire society. We cannot be free without being free to harm ourselves. Advances in technology can remove physical dangers from our lives, but, when they do, the spiritual dangers increase. By spiritual danger I mean a danger to your integrity, your decency, your sense of life. Against those dangers I warn you; you can be invulnerable, if you choose, because no spiritual danger can conquer you without your own consent. But, once they have your consent, those dangers are all-powerful, because no outside force can come to your aid. Spiritual dangers are always faced alone. It is for this reason that the Silver-Gray School was formed; it is for this reason that we practice the exercise of self-discipline. Once you pass those doors, my son, you will be one of us, and there will be nothing to restrain you from corruption and self-destruction except yourself.
“You have a bright and fiery soul, Phaethon, a power to do great things; but I fear you may one day unleash such a tempest of fire that you may consume yourself, and all the world around you.”
― quote from The Golden Age
“Imprinting isn't a life sentence. Our people thrive with our significant by our side. We all know the importance of what has happened since Maggie came into our lives. The proof of how destiny works and moves is right here in this circle, in these four couples that will be joined today. But more than destiny and purpose is love. The love one feels for his significant is bigger than any ocean, deeper than any well, more powerful than any storm. When we join these significants today, they are telling us that they want no one else, will always be there for each other and will never part from their mate. Not that I have to tell them that.”
― Shelly Crane, quote from Independence
“Love is a tempestuous mistress.
And none of us shall ever master her.”
― Lisa Ann Sandell, quote from Song of the Sparrow
“I don’t know that she can ever make you a proper wife,” Tavis said in a low voice that sounded precariously close to pleading. “Don’t force the issue. I wouldn’t have her hurt or ill-treated for anything in the world. She is dear to all of us. You are receiving a gift, Laird. Whether you choose to believe so or not, you are receiving something more precious than gold”
― Maya Banks, quote from Never Seduce a Scot
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