Literary Fiction Quotes

“Wouldn’t the joys of life lose all colour, if life was eternal?”
― Constantina Maud, Hydranos

“Something must have gone awry with the programming. I have no idea where or when we are.”
― Steven Decker, The Balance of Time

“It's amazing how close I have been, all this time, to my old life. And yet the distance that divides me from it is vast.”
― Lauren Oliver, Pandemonium

“The evening came to a close and the two women walked hand-in-hand back to the hut, the waves breaking gently on the beach, the stars out up above, a buzz in their heads from the wine and beer. As close to paradise as I could ever imagine, thought Dani.”
― Steven Decker, Time Chain

“Despite the countless acts of violence that the two had witnessed, and even participated in, over the years, they were still shocked by what they saw.”
― Stephen A. Reger, Storm Surge: Book Two of the Stormsong Trilogy

“You were disrespectful to a god I follow,” Eufame said to Bonnyman. “I would protect him—”
“With your life,” Bonnyman said before Eufame could continue. “Guess what, ghost, you are already dead.”
“As are you, zombie” Eufame said.”
― Frank Lambert, Xyz

“All I want is to sleep--to dream. Life is better in dreams.”
― Christina Westover, Poisoning Sylvie

“True siblings are bound together by far more essential things than blood, while more times than many blood isn't thicker than water.”
― Constantina Maud, Hydranos

“Life if curious when reduced to its essentials”
― Jean Rhys

“She felt the cold blast from the sterile air conditioning on her bare arms and thighs, as she ambled down the center of the shopping complex's ground floor.

The scene was a swirl of candy bright lights--the Victoria's Secret fuchsia signboard, signboards which lured one to purchase "confidence," or "sexual appeal," or whatever it was that was being advertised--the fluorescent lights in each store, contrasting with the shiny, black-tiled walls and eye-catching speckled marble tiles on the ground.

One could lick the floor--the tiles were spotless, clean like the fake air she was breathing in, like the atoms and cells in her that were decaying in stale neglect.”
― Jess C Scott, Jack in the Box

“Quiero esperar en silencio la séptima ola. Si, aquí cuentan la historia indómita de la séptima ola. Las primeras seis son previsibles y equilibradas. Se condicionan unas a otras, no deparan sorpresas. Mantienen la continuidad. Pero, !cuidado con la séptima ola¡ La séptima es imprevisible. Durante mucho tiempo pasa inadvertida, participa en el monótono proceso, se adapta a sus predecesoras. Pero a veces estalla. Siempre ella, siempre la séptima. Porque es despreocupada, inocente, rebelde, barre con todo, lo cambia todo. Para ella no existe el antes, solo el ahora. Y después todo es distinto. ¿Mejor o peor? Eso solo pueden decirlo quienes estuvieron arrastrados por ella, quienes tuvieron el coraje de enfrentarla, de dejarse cautivar...”
― Daniel Glattauer, Cada siete olas

“To be free means always leaving...or returning to a place where leaves never fall.”
― Rich Shapero

“For two young women, bound together by blood and circumstance, but divided by religion, politics, and social class, the consequences were much more personal.”
― Stephen A. Reger, Storm Surge: Book Two of the Stormsong Trilogy

“How ridiculous were the attentions the weak paid one another in the shadow of the strong!”
― V.S. Naipaul, A House for Mr Biswas

“I remember that night as clearly as you do. I was fearful if you tried to take it further. -And yet, there was something inside me, some small hope, -that you would.”
― Donald Montano, Drink Deep from the Well of Good Intentions

“After everything is said and done, a memory remains a treacherous thing…How long does one cling on to the people they’ve lost? How long could I have remembered my grandfather? How long had it been since I forgotten him and my mind began harbouring other things?”
― Kanza Javed, Ashes, Wine and Dust

“if you say one thing is another thing and you say it enough times, then it must be so, and if you keep saying it over and over people accept it as true – this is an old idea, of course, it really is nothing new, but you’re watching it happen in your own time and not in a book.”
― Paul Lynch, Prophet Song

“The deep bowl of frozen air that lay still across the land promised to make the clear night colder than the day. Through the warm glow of the dining room window, we could see Standback and a woman taking their meal. A servant came in to say something to him, and he looked out the window at our approach in the remaining daylight. Standback met us on the porch as we walked our horses up.”
― Phil Truman, Dire Wolf of the Quapaw: a Jubal Smoak Mystery

“Beautiful day out there,” I said, perching on the stool and crossing my legs. “It’s autumn, Sunday, great weather, and crowded everywhere you go. Relaxing indoors like this is the best thing you can do on such a nice day. It’s exhausting to get into those crowds. And the air is bad. I mostly do laundry on Sundays—wash the stuff in the morning, hang it out on the roof of my dorm, take it in before the sun goes down, do a good job of ironing it. I don’t mind ironing at all. There’s a special satisfaction in making wrinkled things smooth. And I’m pretty good at it, too. Of course, I was lousy at it at first. I put creases in everything. After a month of practice, though, I knew what I was doing. So Sunday is my day for laundry and ironing. I couldn’t do it today, of course. Too bad: wasted a perfect laundry day.”
― Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood

“If loving the written word is wrong...I don't want to be right!”
― Junnita Jackson

“It took me most of my childhood to realize that traditions have infinite power over us.
-MUKTA”
― Amita Trasi, The Color of our Sky

“She remembers this phrase from his final months of law school, when he brought home the books on starting up a business. He'd read ravenously for several weeks and then predicted: "Well, darling, we're going to be rich." Now he slaps shut the last of his books and announces, with equal assurance: "We're all going to die.”
― Jacob Appel, Radiazione

“The trees are bedecked with snow, the air is perfumed; how sweet, how dark the sultry fragrance. Forever hypnotising, always haunting. I want to inhale the fragrance of your skin, drink from your open mouth.”
― Suzy Davies, Johari's Window

“If you don't read my book, I'm not coming to your birthday party.”
― Tim Yeager

“Question: You’re 21-years-old, a young adult writing mature adult literary fiction. Imaj: Yes, I feel creativity is an ageless thing.”
― Imaj, Harlow

“There's something in your eyes that scares me,"
Max whispired, looking through the window.
Landon took her face into his hand and made her look into his eyes "What?" he asked. "What do you see?"
"Fear," she answered plainly. "I see fear”
― Shawn Kirsten Maravel, The Wanderer

“It was a year ago today your daughter went missing.’ Bagg had closed his eyes, feeling the death going on inside.”
― Cole Alpaugh

“... Elwood saw that he was always simultaneously at home in whatever scene he found himself and also seemed like he shouldn't have been there; inside and above at the same time; a part and apart. Like a tree trunk that falls across a creek—it doesn't belong and then it's never not been there, generating its own ripples in the larger current.”
― Colson Whitehead, The Nickel Boys

“And there was nothing quite like the surprise attack of a snarling black bear, even one missing all forty-two teeth, to urge someone back to work. Waking up with several hundred mud-encrusted, reeking pounds on top of you — your neck suffering a hickey of epic proportions — just pushed the limits on what was tolerable.”
― Cole Alpaugh, The Bear in a Muddy Tutu

“I can see the singles ad now: ‘Three straight men, a gay man and a woman trapped in one body, seeks a lady willing to share her lipstick and shoes. A perfect match must enjoy cleaning automatic weapons, dividing anti-psychotic drugs into a weekly pill keeper, and long walks on the beach.’ The calls would just pour in.”
― Autumn Rosen