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Quote by Colson Whitehead

“We never see other people anyway, only the monsters we make of them.”

Quote by Colson Whitehead

Work

In this gripping narrative, the protagonist and his fellow soldiers face the harsh realities of a world where the line between human and monster blurs. The novel explores themes of survival, humanity, and the resilience of the human spirit amidst a backdrop of societal collapse. more

Author

Colson Whitehead

Colson Whitehead is an American novelist known for his distinctive literary style and profound insights into historical themes. His works cover a range of topics from slavery to modern urban life, with his 'New York Trilogy' and 'The Underground Railroad' being particularly notable. more

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“As time went on, we learned to arm ourselves in our different ways. Some of us with real guns, some of us with more ephemeral weapons, an idea or improbable plan or some sort of formulation about how best to move through the world. An idea that will let us be. Protect us and keep us safe. But a weapon nonetheless.”

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“A monster is a person who has stopped pretending.”

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“It is failure that guides evolution; perfection provides no incentive for improvement, and nothing is perfect.”

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“Pain could be killed. Sadness could not, but the drugs did shut its mouth for a time.”

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“A society manufactures the heroes it requires.”

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“Isn't it great when you're a kid and the world is full of anonymous things? Everything is bright and mysterious until you know what it is called and then all the light goes out of it...Once we knew the name of it, how could we ever come to love it?...For things had true natures, and they hid behind false names, beneath the skin we gave them.”

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“Best to let the broken glass be broken glass, let it splinter into smaller pieces and dust and scatter. Let the cracks between things widen until they are no longer cracks but the new places for things. That was where they were now. The world wasn't ending: it had ended and now they were in the new place. They could not recognize it because they had never seen it before.”

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“Colored, Negro, Afro-American, African American. ... Every couple of years someone came up with something that got us an inch closer to the truth. Bit by bit we crept along. As if that thing we believed to be approaching actually existed.”

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“New York City in life was much like New York City in death. It was still hard to get a cab, for example.”

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“In keeping with my family's affection for doomed product lines and hexed formats, we purchased a Betamax. The year before, we'd bought a TRS-80 instead of an Apple II, and in due course we'd unbox Mattel's Intellivision, instead of Atari's legendary gizmo. This was good training for a writer, for the sooner you accept the fact that you are a deluded idiot who is always out of step with reality the better off you will be.”

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