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Anna Gavalda

Anna Gavalda Quotes

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Famous Anna Gavalda Quotes

“Fuck! How many times do I have to tell you? The butter goes into a butter dish because otherwise it absorbs all the other smells! And the cheese too! Transparent wrap wasn't invented for dogs, shit! And what the hell is this? Lettuce? Why did you leave it in a plastic bag? Plastic ruins everything! I've already told you, Philibert. Where are all those containers I brought home the other day? And what about this lemon? What's it doing in the egg compartment? You cut open a lemon, you wrap it up or put it upside down on a plate, capice?”

FoodPerfectionistRant
Book:Hunting and Gathering
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“Elle avait failli à un moment... Elle était fatiguée, elle aurait dû poser ses coudes sur le bureau elle aussi, et lui raconter la vérité. Lui dire que si elle ne mangeait plus, ou si peu, c'est parce que des cailloux prenaient toute la place dans son ventre. Qu'elle se réveillait chaque jour avec l'impression de mâcher du gravier, qu'elle n'avait pas encore ouvert les yeux, que déjà, elle étouffait. Que déjà le monde qui l'entourait n'avait plus aucune importance et que chaque nouvelle journée était comme un poids impossible à soulever. Alors, elle pleurait. Non pas qu'elle fut triste, mais pour faire passer tout ça. Les larmes, ce liquide finalement, l'aidaient à digérer sa caillasse et lui permettaient de respirer à nouveau.”

TearsStones
Book:Hunting and Gathering
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“A real house with a copper pot for making jam, and sugar cookies in a metal box hidden deep inside a dresser. A long farmhouse table, thick and homey, and cretonne curtains. She smiled. She had no idea what cretonne was, or even if she'd like it, but she liked the way the words went together: cretonne curtains. She'd have a guest room and- who knows- maybe even some guests. A well-kept little garden, hens who'd provide her with tasty boiled eggs, cats to chase after the field mice and dogs to chase after the cats. A little plot of aromatic herbs, a fireplace, sagging armchairs and books all around. White tablecloths, napkin rings unearthed at flea markets, some sort of device so she could listen to the same operas her father used to listen to, and a coal stove where she could let a rich beef-and-carrot stew simmer all morning along. A rich beef-and-carrot stew. What was she thinking. A little house like the ones that kids draw, with a door and two windows on either side. Old-fashioned, discreet, silent, overrun with Virginia creeper and climbing roses. A house with those little fire bugs on the porch, red and black insects scurrying everywhere in pairs. A warm porch where the heat of the day would linger and she could sit in the evening to watch for the return of the heron.”

Interior DesignCottageDream HomeExterior And Interior Designer
Book:Hunting and Gathering
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“You climb out of the train with all your shit, you're a little groggy, a little discouraged. You're not expecting anyone to be there, then boom! Someone's there after all, at the end of the platform, waiting for you. Haven't you ever dreamt that would happen to you?" "I don't dream." "I don't dream," she repeated in a macho tone. "I don't dream and I don't like a cocktease. May that be a warning, babe." He looked devastated.”

MockingCocktease
Book:Hunting and Gathering
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“Well, then, mademoiselle, shall I take you to the Riviera?'" "'Yes,'" -Camille smiled- "'I'd like that.' 'Have you brought your bathing suit?' he'd ask. 'Perfect. And an evening gown as well! We must go to the casino. Don't forget your silver fox coat, it can be cool in Monte Carlo in the evening.' There was a nice smell inside the car. The smell of well-worn leather... It was all so lovely, I remember. The crystal ashtray, the vanity mirror, the tiny little handle to roll the window down, the inside of the glove compartment, the wood. Its was like a flying carpet. 'With a bit of luck we'll get there before nightfall,' he promised. Yes, he was that kind of man, my dad, a big dreamer who could shift gears on a car up on blocks for hours on end and take me to the far corners of the earth in a suburban garage. He was really into opera, too, so wee listened to Don Carlos, La Traviata or The Marriage of Figaro during the trip. He would tell me the stories: Madame Butterfly's sorrow, the impossible love of Pelléas and Mélisande- when he confesses, 'I have something to tell you' and then he can't; the stories with the countess and her Cherub who hides all the time, or Alcina, the beautiful witch who turned her suitors into wild animals.”

OperaReminiscingFather Daughter Bond
Book:Hunting and Gathering
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“Puisque c'est ainsi. Puisque le temps sépare ceux qui s'aiment et que rien ne dure. Ce que nous vivions là, et nous en étions conscients tous les quatre, c'était un peu de rab. Un sursis, une parenthèse, un moment de grâce. Quelques heures volées aux autres... Pendant combien de temps aurions-nous l'énergie de nous arracher ainsi du quotidien pour faire le mur? Combien de permissions la vie nous accorderait-elle encore? Combien de pieds de nez? Combien de petites grattes? Quand allions-nous nous perdre et comment les liens se distendraient-ils? Encore combien d'années avant d'être vieux?”

TempsAmitiéFrèresSoeurs
Book:L'Échappée belle
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“We can put the mattress on the floor and I'll sleep on the box springs. That okay, princess?" "That's okay." "Have you seen Shrek? The cartoon?" "No, why?" "Because you remind me of Princess Fiona. Not quite as curvy, of course." "Of course." "C'mon... give me a hand? This mattress weighs a ton." "You're right," she groaned. "What the hell is in here?" "Generations of peasants who died of fatigue." "Charming.”

CompromiseFatigueShrekFiona
Book:Hunting and Gathering
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“He was a prince of the Ming dynasty. His family was very rich and very powerful. His father and grandfather were painters and famous calligraphers, and little Zhu Da had inherited their gift. So just imagine, one day, when he wasn't even eight years old yet, he drew a flower, a simple lotus flower floating on a pond. His drawing was beautiful that his mother decided to hang it in their salon. She claimed that thanks to the drawing you could feel a fresh little breeze in the huge room and you could even smell the flower's perfume when you walked by the drawing. Can you imagine? Even the perfume! And his mother was surely not an easy person to please... With both a husband and a father who were artists, she must have seen a few things by then...”

PainterChinesePrinceCalligraphyMing DynastyCalligrapher
Book:Hunting and Gathering
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“- როგორი ვაჟკაცი უნდა იყო, რომ ერთ დილას, სარკეში ჩახედვისას საკუთარ თავს მკაფიოდ და გარკვევით დაუმარცვლო რამდენიმე სიტყვა: მე მაქვს შეცდომის დაშვების უფლება? ზუსტად ეს რამდენიმე სიტყვა... ვაჟკაცობა უნდა იმასაც, რომ შენს ცხოვრებას გვერდიდან შეხედო და იქ წესრიგი და ჰარმონია ვერ დაინახო.”

LifeCourageMistakesRight And WrongRights To Be Mistaken
Book:Someone I Loved
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“But friends, those I wanted to please? There are so few, so few... and you're one of them. You... because you have such a gift for life. You grab hold of it with both hands. You move, you dance, you know how to make the rain and the sunshine in a home. You have this incredible gift for making people around you happy. You're so at ease, so at ease on this little planet.”

PeopleKnowsLittlesHomeHandsWantedMovingKnow HowPlanetsPleaseRainIncrediblesEaseSunshine
Book:Someone I Loved
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“She was sound asleep when he came to curl up next to her. She grunted. "Don't worry. I'm too drunk, I won't do anything," he murmered. As she had her back to him, he placed his nose on her neck and slid his arm underneath her to be as close to her as possible. Short strands of her hair tickled his nostrils. "Camille?" Was she asleep? Was she pretending? No answer either way. "I like being with you." A little smile. Was she dreaming? Was she asleep? Who knows.”

KnowsWayLittlesDreamNextSoundAnswersWorryHairArmsDrunkNosesNecksPretendingCurlsStrandsCamille
Author:Anna Gavalda
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“I think we go well together. I like being with you because I'm never bored. Even when we're not talking, even when we're not touching, even when we're not in the same room, I'm not bored. I'm never bored. I think it's because I have confidence in you, in your thoughts. Do you understand? I love everything I see in you, and everything I don't see. I know your faults, but as it turns out, I feel as though your faults go well with my qualities. We're not afraid of the same things. Even our inner demons go well together! You, you're worth more than you show.”

ThinkingKnowsFeelsWellsShowsTogetherTurnsRoomsQualityTalkingFaultsBoredDemonTouchingNot AfraidHave ConfidenceNot TalkingInner Demons
Author:Anna Gavalda
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