Quotes from The Elementals

Michael McDowell ·  292 pages

Rating: (3.9K votes)


“Alcoholism is a disease,” she said. “Like athlete’s foot. Or herpes. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Luker and I have lots of friends who are alcoholics. And speed freaks too.” “Well,”
― Michael McDowell, quote from The Elementals


“To have a family is real strange,” said India thoughtfully. “All these people you wouldn’t have anything to do with except that they’re related to you.”
― Michael McDowell, quote from The Elementals


“She’s got manners, but what has she got in the way of morals?” “Oh,” said Luker blithely, “she and I don’t have any morals. We have to get along with a scruple or two.” “I”
― Michael McDowell, quote from The Elementals


“You know what you should have done, added Luker, you should have ripped his balls off and stapled them to the back of his throat.”
― Michael McDowell, quote from The Elementals


“It’s bad when the dead talk in dreams,” said Odessa.”
― Michael McDowell, quote from The Elementals



“Daylight had not brought a solution, but it had accorded indifference. Having”
― Michael McDowell, quote from The Elementals


About the author

Michael McDowell
Born place: in Enterprise, AL, The United States
Born date June 1, 1950
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“saying this to Patrick, “that he misses me. He was clearly discombobulated when he saw me, and he did see me. I am quite certain he knew it was me. But there was also delight. Before he had a chance to check his emotions, I saw delight.” As she speaks, Grace recognizes she still has loyalty; she still cares. This is her husband of over twenty years. Whatever betrayal has happened, whatever infidelities there have been, he is still her husband. She does not want to see him destroyed. They talk for a long time. About everything. And nothing. Hitting traffic in Stamford, Grace reluctantly says good-bye, turning off the highway and taking the back roads. Through Darien, the pretty water town of Rowayton, through Norwalk, Grace delighting in the gorgeous old homes. When she couldn’t get ahold of her by phone days ago, Grace went back to Anne, who arranged this meeting. Emily didn’t want to talk on the phone, she said, but they could meet; she would tell her everything. Past the churches, under the railway tracks, she turns into the pretty village of Southport and pulls up outside the Driftwood Diner. She knows who Emily must be as soon as she walks in, a pretty woman sitting at a table by herself, her face drawn and tired. “Emily?” She nods as Grace sits, orders a coffee, makes small talk,”
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“Apologize for not being mine when you should’ve been. Because Emilia, baby...” I tilted my head sideways. “It was always fucking us and you know it.”
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“Mary.”
Turning at the soft sound of her name, she glanced behind herself. Then frowned. “Lassiter?”
“I’m over here.”
“Where?” She looked all around. “Why is your voice echoing?”
“Chimney.”
“What?”
“I’m stuck in the fucking chimney.”
She raced over to the fireplace and got on her hands and knees. Looking up into the dark flue, she shook her head. “Lass? What the hell are you doing up there?”
His voice emanated from somewhere above her. “Don’t tell anyone, okay?”
“What are you—”
An arm came down. A very sooty arm that was encased in a red sleeve that had white trim. Or what had been white trim and which was now smudged with ash.
“You’re stuck!” she exclaimed. “And thank God no one lit this fire!”
“You’re telling me,” he muttered in his disembodied voice. “I had to blow out Fritz’s match like a hundred times before he gave up. Fuck, that sounds dirty. Anyway, just remind me never to try to be Santa for your kid, okay? I’m not doing this again, even for her.”
Mary stretched a little farther in, but the logs on the hearth stopped her. “Lassiter. Why can’t you free yourself by dematerializing—”
“I’m impaled on a hook that’s iron. I can’t go ghost. And will you just take this?”
“What?”
“This.” He turned his hand toward her and there was…a box…in it? A small navy blue box. “Open it. And before you ask, I already cleared it with your pinheaded hellren. He’s not jel or anything.”
Mary sat back and shook her head. “I’m more worried about you—”
“Justopenthefuckingthingalready.”
Taking off the top, she found a slightly smaller box inside. That was velvet. “What is this?” As she lifted the lid, she…gasped. It was a pair of diamond earrings. A pair of perfectly matched, sparkly, diamond…
“A mother’s tears,” Lassiter’s slightly echo-y voice said softly. “So hard, so beautiful. I told you everything was going to be all right. And those are to remind you of how strong you are, how strong your love for your daughter is…how, even in the worst of times, things have a way of working out as they should.”
Blinking away tears, she thought of her crying in the foyer in front of the angel, crying because all had been lost. “They’re just beautiful,” she said hoarsely.

-Lassiter & Mary”
― J.R. Ward, quote from Blood Vow


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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.

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