“Was it good?
Nemecsek fixed his blue eyes on Gereb and replied:
Yes, and quietly added: Much better than to be standing on the bank, laughing at me. I'd rather stay in the water neck-deep until New Year than be hand-in-hand with my friends' enemies. I don't mind having dipped in the water. The other day I fell in there by myself. I saw you then, too, with these strangers on the island. But you fellows can invite me as long as you like, you can flatter me and shower me with presents - yet I won't have a thing to do with you. And if you give me another ducking, if you throw me in the water a hundred times, or even a thousand times, I'll come here tomorrow and the day after just the same. I'll find a hiding place where you won't get me. I'm not afraid of anyone of you. And if you'll come to Paul Street, to take our ground away, we'll be on the spot! And don't you forget that either! I'll show you that with ten of us against your ten, you'll hear a different sort of talk from what I'm giving you now. It was easy enough to get the better of me! The one that's stronger always wins! The Pasztor boys stole my marbles in the Museum Garden because they were stronger. Now I got a ducking because you are stronger! Easy enough when ten are against one! But I don't care! You can even beat me up, if it'll do you good. I could have saved myself from the ducking, but I wouldn't join you. I'd rather be drowned or have my brains knocked out than be a traitor...like....somebody standing over...there....”
― Ferenc Molnár, quote from The Paul Street Boys
“...Basit çocuk ruhunda derinden derine bir şeyler değişiyordu: Hayata dair, hani içinde hepimizin bazen kederli, bazen neşeli köleler olduğumuz hayata dair, bazı gerçekleri kavramaya başladığını hissediyordu.”
― Ferenc Molnár, quote from The Paul Street Boys
“Csónakosi taskus leidus kõike. Pole sellist turgugi, kus oleks nii palju kõige mitmekesisemaid asju kui Csónakosi taskus. Seal oli sulenuga, nööri, kuule, vasest ukselink, naelu, võti, riiet, märkmik, punnivinn ja jumal ise teab, mis veel.”
― Ferenc Molnár, quote from The Paul Street Boys
“Egyikre sem felelt. Keserűen mosolygott, és simogatta a vizes kabátját. De akkor elébe állt Geréb, széthúzta vigyorogva a száját, és kevélyes fejbólintással ezt kérdezte tőle:
- Jó volt?
Nemecsek ráemelte nagy kék szemét, és felelt.
- Jó volt - mondta csöndesen, és hozzátette: - Jó volt, sokkal jobb volt, mint a parton állni, és kinevetni engem. Inkább újesztendeig a vízben ülök nyakig, mint hogy összeszűrjem a levet a barátaim ellenségeivel. Én nem bánom, hogy a vízbe nyomtatok. A múltkor magamtól pottyantam a vízbe, akkor is láttalak a szigeten az idegenek közt. De engem meghívhattok magatok közé, hízeleghettek nekem, adhattok ajándékot, amennyit csak akartok, semmi közöm hozzátok. És ha még egyszer a vízbe nyomtok, és még százszor és ezerszer a vízbe nyomtok, akkor is eljövök ide holnap is meg holnapután is! Majd csak megbújok valahol, ahol nem vesztek észre. Nem félek én egyikőtöktől sem. És ha eljöttök hozzánk a Pál utcába, elvenni a földünket, hát majd mi is ott leszünk! És meg fogom nektek mutatni, hogy ahol mi is tízen vagyunk, ott másképpen fognak veletek beszélni, mint ahogy én most itt beszélek. Könnyű volt velem elbánni! Aki erősebb, az győz. A Pásztorok ellopták a golyóimat a Múzeum-kertben, mert ők voltak az erősebbek! Könnyű tíznek egy ellen! De én nem bánom. Engem meg is verhettek, ha úgy tetszik. Hiszen ha akartam volna, nem kellett volna a vízbe mennem. De én nem csaptam fel közétek. Inkább fojtsatok vízbe, és verjetek agyon, de én ugyan nem leszek áruló, mint valaki, aki ott áll, ni... ott...
Kinyújtotta a karját, és Gerébre mutatott, akinek most a torkán akadt a nevetés. A lámpa fénye ráesett a Nemecsek szép szőke kis fejére, víztől fényes ruhájára. Bátran, büszkén, tiszta szívvel nézett a Geréb szemébe, s Geréb ezt a nézést úgy érezte, mintha valami súly szállott volna a lelkére. Elkomolyodott, és lehorgasztotta a fejét. És ebben a pillanatban úgy hallgatott mindenki, olyan nagy volt a csönd, mintha templomban lettek volna a fiúk, s tisztán lehetett hallani, amint Nemecsek ruhájáról a kemény földre csöpögött a víz...”
― Ferenc Molnár, quote from The Paul Street Boys
“Ama ben kahraman değilim. Buraya gelmemin ne kadar önemli olduğunu bilmiyordum. Ben sadece diğer arkadaşlar gibi savaşmaya geldim. Onlar gibi, aynen arkadaşlarım gibi... Sonra birden önünde Feri Áts’ı görünce çok öfkelendim. Ona çok kızgındım! Çünkü onun yüzünden, onun beni havuza attırması nedeniyle hasta olmuştum ve bu yüzden savaşta sizin yanınızda değildim! Şöyle düşündüm: “Ernö! Ya şimdi ya da hiçbir zaman!” Gözlerimi yumdum ve... Ve... Üstüne atladım.”
― Ferenc Molnár, quote from The Paul Street Boys
“The life of man is so short that ordinary people simply cannot afford to be born”
― Halldór Kiljan Laxness, quote from Independent People
“Even without them touching me, I feel dirty about what I do. Alex does even filthier things but says it all washes off with soap. I don’t believe that. I think it all leaves stains. Indelible stains.”
― Ellen Hopkins, quote from Tricks
“This is beautiful," I said, ignoring the shop window to trace the gleaming stone walls fronting another boutique.
"You know what's funny?" Jacob asked. He didn't wait for my answer. "You can see beauty in everything, except for yourself."
***
I swallowed hard. Erik thought my body was beautiful, Karin that it was enviable. At random times, people had noted that my hands were beautiful, or my hair. The Twisted Sisters had called my art beautiful. Mom had the best intentions and always told me before and after my laser surgeries that I would be beautiful. But no one had ever said that I was beautiful, all my parts taken together, not just the bits and pieces.”
― Justina Chen, quote from North of Beautiful
“I'm not doing much at all. I mimght as well be a rag doll. Comes complete with matching shoes. Spine sold separately.”
― Amie Kaufman, quote from These Broken Stars
“Forever, Tom thought. Maybe he’d never go back to the States. It was not so much Europe itself as the evenings he had spent alone, here and in Rome, that made him feel that way. Evenings by himself simply looking at maps, or lying around on sofas thumbing through guidebooks. Evenings looking at his clothes - his clothes and Dickie’s - and feeling Dickie’s rings between his palms, and running his fingers over the antelope suitcase he had bought at Gucci’s. He had polished the
suitcase with a special English leather dressing, not that it needed polishing
because he took such good care of it, but for its protection. He loved possessions,
not masses of them, but a select few that he did not part with. They gave a man
self-respect. Not ostentation but quality, and the love that cherished the quality.
Possessions reminded him that he existed, and made him enjoy his existence. It was as simple as that. And wasn’t that worth something? He existed. Not many people in the world knew how to, even if they had the money. It really didn’t take
money, masses of money, it took a certain security. He had been on the road to it,
even with Marc Priminger. He had appreciated Marc’s possessions, and they were
what had attracted him to the house, but they were not his own, and it had been
impossible to make a beginning at acquiring anything of his own on forty dollars a week. It would have taken him the best years of his life, even if he had economised stringently, to buy the things he wanted. Dickie’s money had given
him only an added momentum on the road he had been travelling. The money
gave him the leisure to see Greece, to collect Etruscan pottery if he wanted (he had
recently read an interesting book on that subject by an American living in Rome),
to join art societies if he cared to and to donate to their work. It gave him the leisure, for instance, to read his Malraux tonight as late as he pleased, because he did not have to go to a job in the morning. He had just bought a two-volume edition of Malraux’s Psychologic de I’art which he was now reading, with great pleasure, in French with the aid of a dictionary.”
― Patricia Highsmith, quote from The Talented Mr. Ripley
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.