Quotes from The Dead and the Gone

“If God wanted a world filled with saints, He never would have created adolescence.”
― Susan Beth Pfeffer, quote from The Dead and the Gone

“Even the rats are drowning,' Alex said.
Nah,' Kevin said. 'They've been taking swimming lessons at the Y.”
― Susan Beth Pfeffer, quote from The Dead and the Gone

“He walked out of the office to find Kevin Daley standing there. 'I like your style,' Kevin said.
Thank you,' Alex said. 'I like it, too.”
― Susan Beth Pfeffer, quote from The Dead and the Gone

“Sometimes the rules don't work. Sometimes the rules cause the anarchy.”
― Susan Beth Pfeffer, quote from The Dead and the Gone

“Carlos was probably somewhere warm, eating three meals a day, and sleeping in a real bed. That was the life”
― Susan Beth Pfeffer, quote from The Dead and the Gone

“Their eyes were usually open, and they stared up at the moon that had killed them.”
― Susan Beth Pfeffer, quote from The Dead and the Gone

“Sometimes the rues don't work. Sometimes the rules cause the anarchy.”
― Susan Beth Pfeffer, quote from The Dead and the Gone

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“It’s no one’s fault really,” he continued. “A big city cannot afford to have its attention distracted from the important job of being a big city by such a tiny, unimportant item as your happiness or mine.”

This came out of him easily, assuredly, and I was suddenly interested. On closer inspection there was something aesthetic and scholarly about him, something faintly professorial. He knew I was with him, listening, and his grey eyes were kind with offered friendliness. He continued:

“Those tall buildings there are more than monuments to the industry, thought and effort which have made this a great city; they also occasionally serve as springboards to eternity for misfits who cannot cope with the city and their own loneliness in it.” He paused and said something about one of the ducks which was quite unintelligible to me.

“A great city is a battlefield,” he continued. “You need to be a fighter to live in it, not exist, mark you, live. Anybody can exist, dragging his soul around behind him like a worn-out coat; but living is different. It can be hard, but it can also be fun; there’s so much going on all the time that’s new and exciting.”

I could not, nor wished to, ignore his pleasant voice, but I was in no mood for his philosophising.

“If you were a negro you’d find that even existing would provide more excitement than you’d care for.”

He looked at me and suddenly laughed; a laugh abandoned and gay, a laugh rich and young and indescribably infectious. I laughed with him, although I failed to see anything funny in my remark.

“I wondered how long it would be before you broke down and talked to me,” he said, when his amusement had quietened down. “Talking helps, you know; if you can talk with someone you’re not lonely any more, don’t you think?”

As simple as that. Soon we were chatting away unreservedly, like old friends, and I had told him everything.

“Teaching,” he said presently. “That’s the thing. Why not get a job as a teacher?”

“That’s rather unlikely,” I replied. “I have had no training as a teacher.”

“Oh, that’s not absolutely necessary. Your degrees would be considered in lieu of training, and I feel sure that with your experience and obvious ability you could do well.”

“Look here, Sir, if these people would not let me near ordinary inanimate equipment about which I understand quite a bit, is it reasonable to expect them to entrust the education of their children to me?”

“Why not? They need teachers desperately.”

“It is said that they also need technicians desperately.”

“Ah, but that’s different. I don’t suppose educational authorities can be bothered about the colour of people’s skins, and I do believe that in that respect the London County Council is rather outstanding. Anyway, there would be no need to mention it; let it wait until they see you at the interview.”

“I’ve tried that method before. It didn’t work.”

“Try it again, you’ve nothing to lose. I know for a fact that there are many vacancies for teachers in the East End of London.”

“Why especially the East End of London?”

“From all accounts it is rather a tough area, and most teachers prefer to seek jobs elsewhere.”

“And you think it would be just right for a negro, I suppose.” The vicious bitterness was creeping back; the suspicion was not so easily forgotten.

“Now, just a moment, young man.” He was wonderfully patient with me, much more so than I deserved. “Don’t ever underrate the people of the East End; from those very slums and alleyways are emerging many of the new breed of professional and scientific men and quite a few of our politicians. Be careful lest you be a worse snob than the rest of us. Was this the kind of spirit in which you sought the other jobs?”
― E.R. Braithwaite, quote from To Sir, With Love

“For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams”
― Edgar Allan Poe, quote from Annabel Lee

“Does "doing exactly what I want" mean not thinking about other people's feelings? Because that's just not the kind of person I am.

Maybe it can mean whatever I want it to mean, like taking care of myselfand not letting people walk over me.”
― Carolyn Mackler, quote from The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things

“he didn't like Nan. Neither did the rest of the world. I was pretty damn sure there was a Twitter hashtag that said #NanHater.”
― Abbi Glines, quote from Simple Perfection

“A revolutionary war of freedom, he said” Hiawatha responded crisply, “and I agree… does Superman ever fly to Thailand and free the kids slaving in the sweat shops owned by the rich corporations? No, he doesn’t. Does Batman ever break into prison and free the wrongfully convicted and over sentenced black man whose rights were trampled on when he was incarcerated? No, he doesn’t. Does Spider man ever break into a house in suburbia and beat up the abusive and violent husband? No, he doesn’t.”

“Do the Fantastic Four ever fly out to third world countries and defend the rights of the poor civilians against greedy American corporations? No, they don’t,” said the Pirate, not to be outdone.

“They’re all just tools used by the state to maintain the status quo,” said Hiawatha.”
― Arun D. Ellis, quote from Corpalism

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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.