Quotes from The Lonely Polygamist

“...Families are Forever, and wondered if the slogan was meant as a promise or a threat.”
― Brady Udall, quote from The Lonely Polygamist

“For most affairs, this eventually becomes the most fundamental of questions, the only one that matters: Do we love each other more than the lives we already have? It is the question that hovers in the background of every secret phone call, flavors every tryst with the head of possibilities of apocalypse and renewal; and it is the answer to that question, or the lack thereof, that so often dooms an affair to failure.”
― Brady Udall, quote from The Lonely Polygamist

“When it comes to love, everyone is a liar.”
― Brady Udall, quote from The Lonely Polygamist

“She considered, maybe for the first time, how lucky she was to be able to pick up the phone and call her mother whenever she needed bad advice.”
― Brady Udall, quote from The Lonely Polygamist

“Because this, after all, was the basic truth they all chose to live by: that love was no finite commodity. That it was not subject to the cruel reckoning of addition and subtraction, that to give to one did not necessarily mean to take from another; that the heart, in its infinite capacity-even the confused and cheating heart of the man in front of her, even the paltry thing now clenched and faltering inside her own chest-could open itself to all who would enter, like a house with windows and doors thrown wide, like the heart of God itself, vast and accommodating and holy, a mansion of rooms without number, full of multitudes without end.”
― Brady Udall, quote from The Lonely Polygamist

“For Golden it was hard not to think that there might be something wrong about a household in which the dog was wearing underwear and the children weren't.”
― Brady Udall, quote from The Lonely Polygamist

“But Golden's dark form in the doorway had imprinted something new and painful on the hard plates of her chest: that old devil, hope. The kind of hope that abandons you in your worst moments and is suddenly there again, weeks later, trailing you like the stubborn, slinking dog who will not take no for an answer. The kind of greedy hope that tricks you into believing that at least some of the things taken from you might be restored, that after everything, you might find your way back to something like happiness.”
― Brady Udall, quote from The Lonely Polygamist

“. . . Golden would find himself thinking that if he ever became delusional or foolhardy enough to outfit one of his houses with a complaint box, it would need to be about the size of a refrigerator.”
― Brady Udall, quote from The Lonely Polygamist

“He knows that for all the undeserved bounty of his life, she will always be there, at the edge of his vision, to remind him of all the things he can never have.”
― Brady Udall, quote from The Lonely Polygamist

“Even in the midst of all this commotion she knows none of it really belongs to her, and marvels at the strange fact of her dearest wish: to be part of it, to give in to it's distractions, to find herself the owner of a life lived rather than a life endured. And then she looks into the face of Mother #3, worn smooth and almost featureless, with moist eyes that can't seem to settle on anything for more than a heartbeat at a time, and she knows this is a very dangerous wish.”
― Brady Udall, quote from The Lonely Polygamist

“When she's next to him, when she rests her hand on his, his whole body aches with something like knowledge for all he has lost, the chances he will never have, to return such a touch, to fall of a horse or eat chinese food or shoot a crossbow (which has always been one of his most dear wishes), to receive a letter in the mail, to be kissed with longing or punched in the jaw.”
― Brady Udall, quote from The Lonely Polygamist

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“I knew a man who had a dumb wife. He was ever so happy.”
― Bernard Cornwell, quote from The Pale Horseman

“Did I tell you how much I liked your sermon on Sunday?” “You did not, or I would have remembered it.” “Well, it was glorious. You were very bold, I thought, to preach on sin. Hardly anyone wants to hear sin preached.” “Mainstream Christianity glosses over the fact that it isn’t just a question of giving up sin, but of doing something far more difficult—giving up our right to ourselves.” He made the turn onto the busy highway toward Wesley, which always, somehow, seemed a shock to his senses. “The sin life in us must be transformed into the spiritual life.” “How?” “Through sacrifice and obedience.” She smiled ironically. “How do you think that will be received by those of us who come to sit in a comfortable pew and find a hot seat instead? “They’ll just have to go across the street until I’ve finished preaching on that particular subject.” She laughed with delight. “You’re different these days.” He laughed with her. “I pray so,” he said.”
― Jan Karon, quote from At Home in Mitford

“Fear can make you do more wrong than hate or jealousy. If you’re afraid you don’t commit yourself to life completely; fear makes you always, always hold something back. You shouldn’t be alone. It’s killing you; it’s undermining you. All the time, every day, you should be somewhere with people.”
― Philip K. Dick, quote from Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said

“Harvey wasn't interested in the clothes, it was the masks that mesmerized him. They were like snowflakes: no two alike. Some were made of wood and of plastic; some of straw and cloth and papier-mâché. Some were as bright as parrots, others as pale as parchment. Some were so grotesque he was certain they'd been carved by crazy people; others so perfect they looked like the death masks of angels. There were masks of clowns and foxes, masks like skulls decorated with real teeth, and one with carved flames instead of hair.”
― Clive Barker, quote from The Thief of Always

“Those are pretty," She commented, leaning down to smell the flowers.
"They're from Violette," I said, watching for her reaction.
"They look like weeds," she replied, straightening.”
― Amy Plum, quote from Until I Die

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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.

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