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Quote by Laila Lalami

“She was rich; she had the luxury of having faith. But then, Faten thought, Noura also had the luxury of having no faith; she'd probably found the hijab too constraining and ended up taking it off to show off her designer clothes. That was the thing with money. It gave you choices.”

Quote by Laila Lalami

Book:Hope And Other Dangerous Pursuits
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Hope And Other Dangerous Pursuits

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Author

Laila Lalami
Laila Lalami

Laila Lalami is a Moroccan-American novelist born in 1968. Her works often focus on themes of immigration, identity, and cultural conflict, and have been well-received by readers. more

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“Because I needed these riches, fucking ached for them. Not because I had some poor, sick grandmama to look after or any nonsense like that. No, I needed riches for the best reason of all. Because I wanted them. I wanted the freedom they granted and the luxuries they provided. I hated the people who had so damn much because I was determined to prove that I was better than them, and I would do it in the simplest way I knew how – by being the man who had more.”

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Book:A Game of Malice and Greed
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“As bills shuffled like playing cards, Bernice thought of how she'd earned each dollar, all the weeks and months and years spent as librarian of the Savage Crossing Public Library; all the library checkout cards stamped with due dates, the books shelved and reshelved, the late fees waived. Pride swelled beneath her breastbone, not because she'd soon be walking around with money in her purse, but because during her career she had introduced reluctant readers to perfect books at least a few times. Such a simple act could sometimes be life-changing.”

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Book:Bernice Runs Away
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“I'm a businessman. And I want you to be a businessman. And whenever you go to these meeting, I want you to think for yourself, and I want you to think about promoting your own interests no matter what. All these people - both the Japanese and the Koreans - are fucked because they keep thinking about the group. But here's the truth: There's no such thing as a benevolent leader. I protect you because you work for me. If you act like a fool and go against my interests, then I can't protect you. As for these Korean groups, you have to remember that no matter what, the men who are in charge are just men - so they're not much smarter than pigs. And we eat pigs. You lived with that farmer Tamaguchi who sold sweet potatoes for obscene prices to starving Japanese during a time of war. He violated wartime regulations, and I helped him, because he wanted money and I do, too. He probably thinks he's a decent, respectable Japanese, or some kind of proud nationalist - don't they all? He's a terrible Japanese, but a smart businessman. I'm not a good Korean, and I'm not Japanese. I'm ver good at making money. This country would fall apart if everyone believed in samurai crap. The Emperor does not give a fuck about anyone, either. So I'm not going to tell you not to go to any meetings or not to join any group. But know this: Those communists don't care about you. They don't care about anybody. You're crazy if you think they care about Korea.”

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Book:Pachinko
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