“One thing he discovered with a great deal of astonishment was that music held for him more then just pleasure. There was meat to it. The grouping of sounds, their forms in the air as they rang out and faded, said something comforting to him about the rule of Creation. What the music said was that there is a right way for things to be ordered so that life might not always be just tangle and drift, but have a shape, an aim. It was a powerful argument that life did not just happen.” WaySaidMightHappensFormSoundPleasureDealsPowerfulOne ThingAirCreationShapesArgumentAimMeatRight WayComfortingFadedAstonishmentCold Mountain Author:Charles Frazier
“That's just pain she said. It goes eventually. And when it's gone, there's no lasting memory. Not the worst of it anyway. It fades. Our minds aren't made to hold on to the particulars of pain the way we do bliss. It's a gift God gives us, a sign of His care for us.” WayGivingMindMadeSaidCarePainMemoriesGoneWorstBlissLastingFadesCold MountainLasting Memories Book:Cold Mountain: A Novel Source: Cold Mountain: A Novel
“That's not a thing any of us are granted. To go back. Wipe away what later doesn't suit us and make it the way we wish it. You just go on” WayWishGoes OnSuitsGrantedWipeCold Mountain Book:Cold Mountain: A Novel Source: Cold Mountain: A Novel
“But she couldn't dismiss easily his light touch with her. No pushing or pressing, none of that herding and corralling bullshit, unlike any of her old boyfriends. And maybe who you fell for and who you eventually loved wasn't rational, no matter how hard you tried to list pros and cons and sum the results. You couldn't think your way through it, not all the way. Maybe just the scent of somebody carried more weight than everything else put together.” ThinkingWayMatterHardLightTogetherResultsWeightListsRationalPushingBullshitScentPros And ConsOld Boyfriend Book:Nightwoods: A Novel Source: Nightwoods: A Novel
“No looking back. Life goes one way only, and whatever opinions you hold about the past having nothing to do with anything but your own damn weakness. Nothing changes what already happened. It will always have happened. You either let it break you down or you don't.” WayPastOpinionBreakHappenedWeaknessOne WayDamnLooking BackThings ChangeLife Goes On Book:Nightwoods: A Novel Source: Nightwoods: A Novel
“I met people when we lived down in Raleigh who'd ask where I grew up, and I'd say about two hours west of Asheville, and they'd say they didn't know there was any North Carolina two hours west of Asheville. It was in many ways an isolated place.” PeopleKnowsWayTwoAsksHoursGrewMetsGrew UpWestIsolatedCarolinaNorth CarolinaRaleighIsolated PlacesAsheville Author:Charles Frazier
“The past is a stronger influence in the South. But I think everywhere you have this sense that the world changes faster than you can accommodate yourself to. Looking back and seeing how you got where you are is a useful way to combat disorientation.” ThinkingWorldWayPastSeeingInfluenceStrongerSouthFasterWhere You AreCombatLooking BackAccommodateDisorientation Author:Charles Frazier
“Writing doesn't come real easy to me. I couldn't write a novel in a year. It wouldn't be readable. I don't let an editor even look at it until the second year, because it would just scare them. I just have to trust that all these scraps and dead-ends will find a way.” WayWritingYearsLooksRealEndsEasyNovelEditorsScareScrapDead Ends Author:Charles Frazier
