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Quote by Lloyd Jones

“Dreams are nervy things—all it takes is for one stern word to be spoken in their direction and they shrivel up and die.”

Quote by Lloyd Jones

Work

Mister Pip

Mister Pip is a narrative that intertwines the story of a young girl, Matilda, living in the Solomon Islands during a turbulent civil war with her fascination for the classic novel 'Great Expectations'. The book explores themes of resilience, the power of storytelling, and the impact of literature on individual lives. more

Author

Lloyd Jones
Lloyd Jones

Lloyd Jones is a renowned New Zealand author known for his distinctive literary style and profound insights into New Zealand's social and cultural landscape. His works span a variety of genres, including novels, poetry, and drama, and have been well-received by readers. more

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“Being a mother is like trying to hold a wolf by the ears,” Gram said. “If you have three or four –or more – chickabiddies, you’re dancing on a hot griddle all the time. You don’t have time to think about anything else. And if you’ve only got one or two, it’s almost harder. You have room left over – empty spaces that you think you’ve got to fill up.”

“It seems to me that we can’t explain all the truly awful things in the world like war and murder and brain tumors, and we can’t fix these things, so we look at the frightening things that are closer to us and we magnify them until they burst open. Inside is something that we can manage, something that isn’t as awful as it had a first seemed. It is a relief to discover that although there might be axe murderers and kidnappers in the world, most people seem a lot like us: sometimes afraid and sometimes brave, sometimes cruel and sometimes kind.”

“The way I see it, the difference between farmers and suburbanites is the difference in the way we feel about dirt. To them, the earth is something to be respected and preserved, but dirt gets no respect. A farmer likes dirt. Suburbanites like to get rid of it. Dirt is the working layer of earth, and dealing with dirt is as much a part of farm life as dealing with manure. Neither is user-friendly but both are necessary.”

“Norah looked at her son’s tiny face, surprised, as always, by his name. he had not grown into it yet, he still wore it like a wrist band, something that might easily slip off and disappear. She had read about people – where? she could not remember this either – who refused to name their children for several weeks, feeling them to be not yet of the earth, suspended still between two worlds.”