Quotes from Zeitoun

“Be strong, be brave, be true. Endure.”
― Dave Eggers, quote from Zeitoun

“Yes, a dark time passed over this land, but now there is something like light.”
― Dave Eggers, quote from Zeitoun

“Every time a crime was committed by a Muslim, that person's faith was mentioned, regardless of its relevance. When a crime is committed by a Christian, do they mention his religion? ... When a crime is committed by a black man, it's mentioned in the first breath: 'An African American man was arrested today...' But what about German Americans? Anglo Americans? A white man robs a convenience store and do we hear he's of Scottish descent? In no other instance is the ancestry mentioned.”
― Dave Eggers, quote from Zeitoun

“What is building, and rebuilding and rebuilding again, but an act of faith?”
― Dave Eggers, quote from Zeitoun

“If your hand doesn't work for it, your heart doesn't feel sorry for it.”
― Dave Eggers, quote from Zeitoun

“Then he got more books. He saved all the books.”
― Dave Eggers, quote from Zeitoun

“What would happen," Zeitoun asked the captain, "if you and I went below the deck, and just went to our bedrooms and went to sleep?"

The captain gave him a quizzical look and answered that the ship would most certainly hit something -- would run aground or into a reef. In any event, disaster.

"So without a captain, the ship cannot navigate."

"Yes," the captain said, "What's your point?"

Zeitoun smiled. "Look above you, at the stars and moon. How do the stars keep their place in the sky, how does the moon rotate around the earth, the earth around the sun? Who's navigating?"

The captain smiled at Zeitoun. He'd been led into a trap.

"Without someone guiding us," Zeitoun finished, "wouldn't the stars and moon fall to earth, wouldn't the oceans overrun the land? Any vessel, any carrier of humans, needs a captain, yes?"

The captain was taken with the beauty of the metaphor, and let his silence imply surrender.”
― Dave Eggers, quote from Zeitoun

“It only takes one person, one small act of stepping from the dark to the light.”
― Dave Eggers, quote from Zeitoun

“She felt some measure of relief knowing that in the very least, on the open road she would have some time to think.”
― Dave Eggers, quote from Zeitoun

“There is no faith like the faith of a builder of homes in coastal Louisiana”
― Dave Eggers, quote from Zeitoun

“But when friends would ask Kathy whether they, too, should start their own business, she talked them out of it. You don’t run the business, she would say. The business runs you.”
― Dave Eggers, quote from Zeitoun

“Are the kids at school?"
"No, they're in the lake. My God.”
― Dave Eggers, quote from Zeitoun

“The country he had left thirty years ago had been a realistic place. There were political realities there, then and now, that precluded blind faith, that discouraged one from thinking that everything, always, would work out fairly and equitably. But he had come to believe such things in the United States. Things had worked out. Difficulties had been overcome. He had worked hard and achieved success. The machinery of government functioned.”
― Dave Eggers, quote from Zeitoun

“His frustration with some Americans was like that of a disappointed parent. He was so content in this country, so impressed with and loving of its opportunities, but then why, sometimes, did Americans fall short of their best selves?”
― Dave Eggers, quote from Zeitoun

About the author

Popular quotes

“I thought if I were beautiful enough, all my dreams would come true. But you don't steady beautiful forever; one day you wake up and it's gone, and then where are you? Dreams are made with blood and sweat and tears.”
― Ryū Murakami, quote from Coin Locker Babies

“It is astonishing to think that millions of people in my time—now, too, I suppose—actually thought that at a given moment in history two human beings had evolved to a higher state than that of all the gods that ever were or ever will be. This is titanism, as the Greeks would say. This is madness.”
― Gore Vidal, quote from Creation

“They all spoke kindly of my dead mother, who had been a slave merely in name, but in nature was noble and womanly.”
― Harriet Ann Jacobs, quote from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

“The Creator made us for each other. Me here. Zelia there. Space was put between us by human error. But our hearts listened to divine will.”
― Louise Erdrich, quote from The Round House

“i’ll tell you a tale of Vampirates,

a tale as old as true.

Yea, I’ll sing you a song of an ancient ship,

that sails the ocean blue...

That haunts the ocean blue.

the Vampirate ship has tattered sails,

that flap like wings in flight.

They say that the Captain, he wears a veil,

so as to curtail your fright.

At his death pale skin,

and his lifeless eyes,

and his teeth sharp as night.

Oh, they say that the Captain, he wears a veil,

and his eyes never see the light.

you better be good child- good as gold.

As good as good can be.

Else I’ll tell you to the in to the vampirates,

and wave you out to sea.

Yes, you’d better be good child- good as gold,

because- lookཀ can you see?,

There’s a dark ship in the harbor tonight.

And there’s room in the hold for thee.

(Plenty of room for thee.)

Well if pirates are bad.

And vampires are worse.

Then I pray, that as long as I be,

that though I sing of Vampirates,

I never one shall I see.

Yea, if Pirates are danger,

and Vampirates are death,

I’ll extend my prayer for thee-

that thine eyes never see a Vampirate...

...and they never lay a hand on thee.”
― Justin Somper, quote from Demons of the Ocean

Interesting books

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.