Quotes from The Oracle of Stamboul

“She hadn't lied. She hadn't betrayed anyone's trust; still, she felt she had done something wrong. Or rather, she had not yet done the right thing. Was there a difference between these two sins?”
― Michael David Lukas, quote from The Oracle of Stamboul

“With every choice, even the choice of inactivity, we must shut the door to a host of alternate futures. Each step we take along the path of fate represents a narrowing of potential, the death of a parallel world. The path of fate was more like a tunnel, and it was constricting about her with ever step she took.”
― Michael David Lukas, quote from The Oracle of Stamboul

“You are a very special child," the old handmaid said, stroking Eleonora's hair. "You know that don't you?"

Eleonora mumbled a yes.

"You know you are special, but I think that you aren't sure how."

She nodded. That was, indeed, the crux of it.”
― Michael David Lukas, quote from The Oracle of Stamboul

“A slippery fish, flashing scales in the water and a noble fighter on the line, but dull as lead at the bottom of the boat.”
― Michael David Lukas, quote from The Oracle of Stamboul

“This divergence of experience was not a stumbling block to conversation; indeed, it was what made the conversation interesting.”
― Michael David Lukas, quote from The Oracle of Stamboul

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Popular quotes

“Let go of the past, of the things I wanted, of the people I loved, and move forward.”
― Devon Monk, quote from Magic in the Shadows

“I can't tell you why God made you the way you are any more than I can tell you why he's planted a carcinoma in my stomach to make me die painfully while other men die peacefully in their sleep. The cogs of creation seem to slip all the time. Babies are born with two heads, mothers of families run crazy with carving knives, men die in plague, famine and thunderstorms. Why? Only God knows.”
― Morris West, quote from The Devil's Advocate

“Όταν σκέφτομαι τη βροχή, λύνω την απορία μου, γιατί δε θα υπήρχε μελωδία χωρίς τις στάλες αν τα σύννεφα δεν κρατούσαν κάθε χρόνο την υπόσχεσή τους να ξεσπάσουν, και θυμάμαι την Έλι που έλεγε ότι οι πλημμύρες δείχνουν πως το φεγγάρι και η θάλασσα κρατούν τις υποσχέσεις τους κι αυτό είν' όλο. Μια υπόσχεση είναι κάτι που δε μετριέται, σημαίνει εμπιστοσύνη, και δε γίνεται να μιλάω για τη βροχή, τη θάλασσα και το φεγγάρι, αλλά γίνεται να ρωτήσω γιατί οι άνθρωποι τηρούν τις υποσχέσεις τους και ίσως τελικά η απάντηση σ' αυτό να είναι η αγάπη.”
― Indra Sinha, quote from Animal's People

“Better by far the destiny of plant or stone, bereft of knowledge and consciousness, but blessed at least with purity and peace of mind!”
― Cao Xueqin, quote from The Dreamer Wakes

“2.Stop obsessing about the size of my nose. Yes, it’s freakishly large, but since there’s nothing I can do about that, it’s time I came to terms with it;
3. Avoid mirrors, so as not to be reminded of my nose;”
― Piper Banks, quote from Geek High

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About BookQuoters

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.