Quotes from The Executioner's Song

“Historical, religious, and existential treatises suggest that for some persons at some times, it is rational not to avoid physical death at all costs. Indeed the spark of humanity can maximize its essence by choosing an alternative that preserves the greatest dignity and some tranquility of mind.”
― Norman Mailer, quote from The Executioner's Song

“but when the call came from Shirley Pedler to help in organizing the Utah Coalition Against the Death Penalty, she knew she would go out in the world again with her freaky blond hair, blond to everyone’s disbelief—at the age of fifty-four, go out in her denims and chin-length-hanging-down-straight vanilla hair to that Salt Lake world where nobody would ever make the mistake of thinking she was a native Utah lady inasmuch as Utah was the Beehive State. The girls went big for vertical hair-dos, pure monuments to shellac.”
― Norman Mailer, quote from The Executioner's Song

“He did a terrible thing and eliminating him would have left the world tidier. Or so goes the logic of the last fifty years of American justice. We throw away flawed people, people who have made terrible mistakes, with regularity and great alacrity. We jail drug dealers for decades, and we execute killers. We want them away. Out of sight.”
― Norman Mailer, quote from The Executioner's Song

“Brenda was six when she fell out of the apple tree.”
― Norman Mailer, quote from The Executioner's Song

“It was getting to be the best conversation she ever had. She had always thought the only way to have conversations like that was in your head. Then”
― Norman Mailer, quote from The Executioner's Song

“It was better than floods of misery that a son of her flesh had killed the sons of other mothers. That burned in her heart like the pain which flared in the arthritis of her knees. Pain was a boring conversationalist who never stopped, just found new topics. Bess”
― Norman Mailer, quote from The Executioner's Song

“Then the Warden said, “Do you have anything you’d like to say?” and Gary looked up at the ceiling and hesitated, then said, “Let’s do it.” That was it. The most pronounced amount of courage, Vern decided, he’d ever seen, no quaver, no throatiness, right down the line.”
― Norman Mailer, quote from The Executioner's Song

“Finally he said, “I like everything that wild Irish maniac, J. P. Donleavy, ever wrote.” It wasn’t so much a discussion as a sharing of taste. He also liked The Agony and the Ecstasy and Lust for Life by Irving Stone.”
― Norman Mailer, quote from The Executioner's Song

“When you start to open a door, the pressure has to be greatest in the beginning, yet the door moves the least.”
― Norman Mailer, quote from The Executioner's Song

“Gary Mark Gilmore: Go down on me, partner... I need it

Nicole Baker: Don't call me partner.

Gary Mark Gilmore: No, darlin'... I love it... I love it

Nicole Baker: Yeah, you and seven other motherfuckers.”
― Norman Mailer, quote from The Executioner's Song

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Popular quotes

“ما اسوأ ان لا يجد الانسان تقديرا من اقرب الناس اليه”
― Rajaa Alsanea, quote from Girls of Riyadh

“Australasian's custom of speaking of England as "home." It was always pretty to hear it, and often it was said in an unconsciously caressing way that made it touching; in a way which transmuted a sentiment into an embodiment, and made one seem to see Australasia as a young girl stroking mother England's old gray head.”
― Mark Twain, quote from Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World

“get the collection of blankets and rugs from the boat. They arranged them in the corners of the little room, and thought that it would be very exciting to spend the night there. ‘The two girls can sleep together on this pile of rugs,’ said Julian. ‘And we two boys will have this pile.’ George looked as if she didn’t want to be put with Anne, and classed as a girl. But Anne didn’t”
― Enid Blyton, quote from Five on a Treasure Island

“We get to the top of the driveway and get off the snowmobile. Bear bolts out of the darkness to greet us.
“Hey, boy,” says Teague, scratching back Bear’s ears.
“Yes, nice to see you too.” He nestles his nose to Bear’s, giving him an Eskimo kiss, which is funny, because, well, Teague is an Eskimo.
I take off my helmet and shake out my matted-down hair, which feels longer and suddenly sexier than I remembered it to be.
We stand there, Bear panting at our feet.
“So, um, thanks!” I say, half wanting to invite him in but half knowing I should let him go. It’s dark. It’s a school night. I should say good-bye while everything is perfect.
Say good-bye before the spell breaks.
I begin to step back, toward the cabin but--
“Wait a sec,” he says, setting his hand on my shoulder.
When he touches me. God.
“I want to ask you something,” he says.
“Ask away.”
“Well, what I want to ask you is--” Teague kneels down to attend to Bear. “Yes, boy, you just wait one second,” he says, ruffling his ears.
He stands back up.
“Okay, so,” he starts again.
I smile.
A big silly grin.
This boy is so cute, seriously, I--
“What I wanted to ask you is--”
He takes off his gloves and wraps his somehow warm hands around my mittens. Honestly, I think I’m going to die.”
― Megan Shull, quote from Amazing Grace

“Do not say that I'll depart tomorrow because even today I still arrive.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, quote from Being Peace

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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.