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The Reader

Book by Bernhard Schlink · 6 quotes · Schlink, Vorleser, Sometimes

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The Reader Quotes

“I took all the blame. I admitted mistakes I hadn't made, intentions I'd never had. Whenever she turned cold and hard, I begged her to be good to me again, to forgive me and love me. Sometimes I had the feeling that she hurt herself when she turned cold and rigid. As if what she was yearning for was the warmth of my apologies, protestations, and entreaties. Sometimes I thought she just bullied me. But either way, I had no choice.”

IfsWayMadeSometimesHardFeelingsChoicesHurtMistakeColdAnd LoveBlameForgivingIntentionBe GoodWarmthYearningApologyBulliedForgive Me
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“Sometimes I had the feeling that all of us in his family were like pets to him. The dog you take for a walk, the cat you play with and that curls up in your lap, purring, to be stroked - you can be fond of them, you can even need them to a certain extent, and nonetheless the whole thing - buying pet food, cleaning up the cat box, and trips to the vet - is really too much. Your life is elsewhere.”

NeedsSometimesPlayWholeFeelingsLife IsCertainWalksToo MuchDogCatBoxesBuyingPetElsewhereCleaningLapCurlsVetsCleaning UpPurringPet Food
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“It is hard for me to imagine that I felt good about behaving like that. I also remember that the smallest gesture of affection would bring a lump to my throat, whether it was directed at me or at someone else. Sometimes all it took was a scene in a movie. This juxtaposition of callousness and extreme sensitivity seemed suspicious even to me.”

SometimesHardRememberFeltImagineSceneAffectionExtremesThroatGesturesImagine ThatSmallestSensitivitySuspiciousLumpsJuxtapositionCallousness
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“I didn't like the way I looked, the way I dressed and moved, what I achieved and what I felt I was worth. But there was so much energy in me, such belief that one day I'd be handsome and clever and superior and admired, such anticipation when I met new people and new situations. Is that what makes me sad? The eagerness and belief that filled me then and exacted a pledge from life that life could never fulfill? Sometimes I see the same eagerness and belief in the faces of children and teenagers and the sight brings back the same sadness I feel in remembering myself.”

PeopleWayFeelsChildrenSometimesRememberFacesBeliefEnergyFeltSituationSadnessMetsOne DaySightMovedFilledCleverSuperiorsTeenagerAnticipationHandsomePledgeEagernessNew Situations
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