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Beartown

Book by Fredrik Backman · 29 quotes · Friends, Hate, Love

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Beartown Quotes

“People sometimes say that sorrow is mental but longing is physical. One is a wound, the other an amputated limb, a withered petal compared to a snapped stem. Anything that grows closely enough to what it loves will eventually share the same roots. We can talk about loss, we can treat it and give it time, but biology still forces us to live according to certain rules: plants that are split down the middle don't heal, they die.”

“Han fyller sexton år idag, och hela sitt liv har han blivit retad och trakasserad. Utsidan, insidan, talet, adressen. Överallt. I skolan, i omklädningsrummet, på nätet. Det nöter ner en människa till sist, det syns inte så tydligt, för folk omkring ett mobbat barn inbillar sig att man blir väl van till sist. Aldrig, man vänjer sig aldrig. Man brinner hela tiden. Det är bara ingen som vet hur lång stubinen är, inte ens man själv.”

“Kira looks at the document, sees the name of the firm representing the other party. And starts to laugh. Her colleague applied for a job there once, and didn’t get it. “Okay, but the fact that you want to win this particular case . . . that wouldn’t be because you just happen to hate this particular firm . . . ?” Kira mutters. Her colleague grabs her over the desk, her eyes flashing: “No, I don’t just want to win, Kira. I want to crush them! I want to give them an existential crisis. I want them to walk out of the negotiation room and think that they might like to move to the coast and renovate an old school and open a bed-and-breakfast. I want to hurt those bastards so badly that they start meditating and trying to FIND THEMSELVES! They’ll turn vegetarian and be wearing socks with sandals by the time I’m finished with them!” Kira sighs and laughs. “Okay, okay, okay . . . give me the rest of the file and let’s take a look . . .” “Socks with SANDALS, Kira! I want them to start growing their own tomatoes! I want to ruin their self-confidence until they stop being lawyers and try to be HAPPY and shit like that instead! Okay?” Kira promises. They close the door. They’re going to win. They always do.”

“Det sägs ibland att sorg är psykisk, men att saknad är fysisk. Den ena är ett sår, den andra är en amputerad kroppsdel, ett visset blomblad jämfört med en brusten stam. Det som växer tillräckligt nära något det älskar har till slut samma rötter. Vi kan prata om förlusten, vi kan bearbeta det och ge det tid, men biologin tvingar oss fortfarande att leva under vissa lagar: Växter som delas på mitten läker inte, de dör.”

Book:Beartown

“Hate can be a deeply stimulating emotion. The world becomes easier to understand and much less terrifying if you divide everything and everyone into friends and enemies, we and they, good and evil. The easiest way to unite a group isn't through love, because love is hard, It makes demands. Hate is simple. So the first thing that happens in a conflict is that we choose a side, because that's easier than trying to hold two thoughts in our heads at the same time. The second thing that happens is that we seek out facts that confirm what we want to believe - comforting facts, ones that permit life to go on as normal. The third is that we dehumanize our enemy.”