“To have memories, happy or sorrowful, is a blessing, for it shows we have lived our lives without reservation.”
― Tan Twan Eng, quote from The Gift of Rain
“Accept that there are things in this world we can never explain and life will be understandable. That is the irony of life. It is also the beauty of it.”
― Tan Twan Eng, quote from The Gift of Rain
“As with all the principles of aikijutsu, you do not meet the force of the strike head-on. You parry, you step to the side to avoid the blow, your redirect the force and unbalance your opponent. It is the same with the ken, the sword. These principles apply to you daily life as well. Never meet a person’s anger directly. Deflect, distract him, even agree with him. Unbalance his mind, and you can lead him anywhere you want.”
― Tan Twan Eng, quote from The Gift of Rain
“The world goes by, the young and the hopeful, all head for their future. Where does that leave us? There is a misconception that we have reached our destinations the moment we grow old, but it is not a well-accepted fact that we are still travelling towards those destinations, still beyond our reach even on the day we close our eyes for the final time.”
― Tan Twan Eng, quote from The Gift of Rain
“I had loaded another weight onto his suffering and it hurt me to understand that while one person can never really share the pain of another, they can so easily and so heedlessly add to it.”
― Tan Twan Eng, quote from The Gift of Rain
“The mind forgets, but the heart will always remember. And what is the heart’s memory but love itself?”
― Tan Twan Eng, quote from The Gift of Rain
“Time seems to overlap, like the shadows of leave pressing down on other leave, layer upon layer.”
― Tan Twan Eng, quote from The Gift of Rain
“The mind forgets, but the heart will always remember. And what is the heart's memory but love itself?”
― Tan Twan Eng, quote from The Gift of Rain
“Duty is a concept created by emperors and generals to deceive us into performing their will. Be wary when duty speaks, for it often masks the voice of others.”
― Tan Twan Eng, quote from The Gift of Rain
“Was this part of the process of growing up, that we finally noticed the people closest to us in a different, clearer light?”
― Tan Twan Eng, quote from The Gift of Rain
“One question remained to me. “If a higher level of bujutsu involves fighting with the mind, what then is the very highest level?” He closed his eyes for a while, seeing things he would never show me. “That,” he said, “would be never to fight at all.”
― Tan Twan Eng, quote from The Gift of Rain
“Enlightenment, it is a moment of complete clarity, of pure bliss. At that instant everything will be revealed to you.”
― Tan Twan Eng, quote from The Gift of Rain
“Yes, I could say that I had lived my life, if not to the full then at least almost to the brim. What more could one ask? Rare is the person whose life overflows.”
― Tan Twan Eng, quote from The Gift of Rain
“while one person can never really share the pain of another, they can so easily and so heedlessly add to it.”
― Tan Twan Eng, quote from The Gift of Rain
“In return for surrendering to the throw, you are given the gift of flight,’ he said.”
― Tan Twan Eng, quote from The Gift of Rain
“Never meet a person’s anger directly. Deflect, distract him, even agree with him. Unbalance his mind, and you can lead him anywhere you want.”
― Tan Twan Eng, quote from The Gift of Rain
“I am certain it has never been easy, growing up as a child of mixed parentage in this place. But that is your strength. Accept the fact that you are different, that you are of two worlds. And I wish you to remember this when you feel you cannot go on: you are used to the duality of life. You have the ability to bring all of life's disparate elements into a cohesive whole. So use it”
― Tan Twan Eng, quote from The Gift of Rain
“none of my children—not one—ever took the easy road; that they strove to keep sanity, reason, and compassion alive and burning in these tragic times.”
― Tan Twan Eng, quote from The Gift of Rain
“The young have hopes and dreams, while the old hold the remains of them in their hands and wonder what has happened to their lives.”
― Tan Twan Eng, quote from The Gift of Rain
“I can only teach you the way, that is all. What you do with it and what it does to you, those are beyond my influence.”
― Tan Twan Eng, quote from The Gift of Rain
“He stopped, pausing to arrange his words like an ikebana expert with his flowers, shifting, bending, adding, and taking away to achieve the results he desired.”
― Tan Twan Eng, quote from The Gift of Rain
“What made it worse was that we could never truly share such burdens with even those closest to us. In the end, the mistakes were our own, the consequences to be borne by us alone.”
― Tan Twan Eng, quote from The Gift of Rain
“Then you understand that certain things cannot be stopped, that they must be allowed to proceed, regardless of the consequences?”
― Tan Twan Eng, quote from The Gift of Rain
“When you are lost, in this world or on the continent of time itself, remember who you have been and you will know who you are. These people were all you, and you are them. I was you before you were born and you will be me after I am gone. That is the meaning of family.” He”
― Tan Twan Eng, quote from The Gift of Rain
“Teacher, as he was called, looked tiny, childlike, and deceptively vulnerable.”
― Tan Twan Eng, quote from The Gift of Rain
“In an instant I saw that I had unconsciously replicated Musashi’s drawing, the drawing that had been copied by Endo-san and for the briefest moment I saw how everything and everyone and every time was connected in some manner.”
― Tan Twan Eng, quote from The Gift of Rain
“The world goes by, the young and the hopeful, all head for their future. Where does that leave us? There is the misconception that we have reached our destinations the moment we grow old, but it is not a well-accepted fact that we are still traveling toward those destinations, still beyond our reach even on the day we close our eyes for the final time.”
― Tan Twan Eng, quote from The Gift of Rain
“Spirit expanded, mind unfurling open, heart in flight.”
― Tan Twan Eng, quote from The Gift of Rain
Tan Twan Eng
Born place: Penang, Malaysia
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“Know this, there is only one truth left to me." His trembling fingertips caressed her jaw. "That I love you." He said it again, his voice broken, his arms pulling her tightly against him. "I love you. The rest is darkness."
Her fingers curled around the smooth swells of his biceps. "Then let me be your light.”
― Kristen Callihan, quote from Firelight
“It is hard to follow one great vision in this world of darkness and of many changing shadows. Among those men get lost.”
― Black Elk, quote from Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux
“It chances that I'd a letter myself by today's post, from Uncle Jonas Henry.' He chuckled. 'Seemingly he's as throng as he can be, and a trifle hackled with me for loitering here. I shall have to post off to Huddersfield next week, sir - and a bear-garden jaw I'll get when I arrive there, if I know Jonas Henry!”
― Georgette Heyer, quote from The Unknown Ajax
“That was hot,” I declared and watched his body lock.
“What?”
“No. That’s not right,” I said . “That wasn’t hot. That was smoking’ hot, and I don’t care if that makes me a freak. It was hot. You were hot. Now I’m hot. So hot, I may have an orgasm, standing here remembering it.”
― Kristen Ashley, quote from Rock Chick Revolution
“Steven’s words slush together as he gets to his feet. “Crossing this one off the bucket list.” Then he
unbuckles his belt and grabs the waist of his pants—yanking the suckers down to his ankles—tighty
whities and all.
Every guy in the car holds up his hands to try to block the spectacle. We groan and complain. “My
eyes! They burn!”
“Put the boa constrictor back in his cage, man.”
“This is not the ass I planned on seeing tonight.”
Our protests fall on deaf ears. Steven is a man on a mission. Wordlessly, he squats and shoves his lilywhite
ass out the window—mooning the gaggle of grannies in the car next to us.
I bet you thought this kind of stuff only happened in movies.
He grins while his ass blows in the wind for a good ninety seconds, ensuring optimal viewage. Then
he pulls his slacks up, turns around, and leans out the window, laughing. “Enjoying the full moon, ladies?”
Wow. Steven usually isn’t the type to visually assault the elderly.
Without warning, his crazy cackling is cut off. He’s silent for a beat, then I hear him choke out a single
strangled word.
“Grandma?”
Then he’s diving back into the limo, his face grayish, dazed, and totally sober. He stares at the floor.
“No way that just happened.”
Matthew and I look at each other hopefully, then we scramble to the window. Sure enough, in the
driver’s seat of that big old Town Car is none other than Loretta P. Reinhart. Mom to George; Grandma to
Steven.
What are the fucking odds, huh?
Loretta was always a cranky old bitch. No sense of humor. Even when I was a kid she hated me.
Thought I was a bad influence on her precious grandchild.
Don’t know where she got that idea from.
She moved out to Arizona years ago. Like a lot of women her age, she still enjoys a good tug on the
slot machine—hence her frequent trips to Sin City. Apparently this is one such trip.
Matthew and I wave and smile and in fourth-grader-like, singsong harmony call out, “Hi, Mrs.
Reinhart.”
She shakes one wrinkled fist in our direction. Then her poofy-haired companion in the backseat flips
us the bird. I’m pretty sure it’s the funniest goddamn thing I’ve ever seen.
The two of us collapse back into our seats, laughing hysterically.”
― Emma Chase, quote from Tied
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