Home / Quotes / Quote by Sara Paretsky

Quote by Sara Paretsky

“And the fury in my community was just staggering. The young priests in the parish were behind the message. The older priests weren't necessarily, but they all followed the orders of the cardinal and read the letter. Every Sunday, 2,000 people came to mass at that parish. The following Sunday, the attendance dropped to 200, and never recovered.”

Quote by Sara Paretsky

Author

Sara Paretsky, born on June 8, 1947, is a renowned American author known for her crime novels. Her works, particularly the V.I. Warshawski series, have gained her recognition for their unique female perspective and social commentary. more

You May Also Like

“The day of the march, we were forbidden to go to the march site. The man I worked for, the Presbyterian minister, knew we would want to be sort of martyrs for the cause and risk arrest. He didn't want any of that going on. So he made us stay in the neighborhood.”

Men Want Made Causes Risk He Man Ministers Neighborhood March Site Forbidden Martyr Presbyterians

Author:Sara Paretsky

“While we were walking around, we came to the Catholic church, and we saw that some people had set fire to carpets and banked them around the rectory, which was made out of wood. They knew every fire truck on the South Side was going to be in the park, that the rectory would just burn to the ground. Our one little act was putting out that fire.”

People Littles Made Sides Church Fire Saws Walking Catholic South Woods Parks Truck Carpet Catholic Church

Author:Sara Paretsky

“But what I've learned is, when your adrenaline is flowing, you can do a lot. I'm not very physical, but once some punks were trying to break into my house and I chased them down.”

Trying House Can Do Break I've Learned Punk Adrenaline

Author:Sara Paretsky

“I was reading Raymond Chandler very much with the feminist eye. In six of his seven novels, it's the woman who presents herself in a sexual way, who is the main bad person. And then you start reading more fiction, whether crime fiction or straight fiction, it's just bad girls trying to make good boys do bad things, going all the way back to Adam and Eve. The woman that thou gavest me made me do it, Adam says to God.”

Way Trying Persons Made Eye Girl Reading Fiction Boys Novel Crime Six Seven Feminist Bad Things Adam Crime Fiction Adam And Eve Bad Girl Good Boy Reading More

Author:Sara Paretsky

“I began wanting to create a detective who really turned the tables on that image of women, to know that you could have a sex life and not be a bad person. You could have a sex life and still solve your own problems. It was eight years from when I started having the fantasy that I was going to create such a detective to when I actually sat down and came up with V. I. Warshawski. It was a long, slow journey to come to a writing voice and do that character.”

Knows Writing Years Persons Long Stills Character Problem Sex Voice Fantasy Journey Down And Tables Eight Solve Sat Detectives Writing Voice

Author:Sara Paretsky

“I cannot find words to express the depth of my loss or outrage about what's happening to this country. I don't know if I can find the words for it, but if this country ever recovers, it will not be in my lifetime. If I were elected President, the first thing I would do would be to set up a Department of Restoring the Bill of Rights. I would have 10,000 people working there.”

People Ifs Knows Firsts I Can Country Would Be President Loss Rights Happenings Bills Lifetime Depth Department Outrage Bill Of Rights Restoring

Author:Sara Paretsky

“Don't tell me I have latent sexism or racism that I need to confront. I don't believe that. I think we are so burned by the current situation that we want somebody that it isn't possible to have. We want someone who definitely looks like the messiah.”

Thinking Want Needs Believe Looks Situation Racism Don't Believe Currents Sexism Burned Messiah Latent Current Situation

Author:Sara Paretsky

“The hope for a messiah puts too much on that one person. And you think that absolves you of personal responsibility and you don't have to act because that person will do it for you.”

Thinking Persons Responsibility Too Much Personal Responsibility Messiah That One Person

Author:Sara Paretsky

“I look at the great poets of the Soviet Union, like Anna Akhmatova, who endured far worse then anything we've seen or hopefully that we will ever see. If they could keep writing and keep a voice alive, keep people hopeful through their poetry, then I would be ashamed to stop and to give in. It would be really self-indulgent, unacceptable, and inexcusable to walk away from it.”

People Ifs Giving Writing Looks Self Would Be Voice Walks Alive Poet Unions Hopefully Ashamed Hopeful Soviet Soviet Union Anna Great Poet Self Indulgent

Author:Sara Paretsky

“It's hard for me to believe that just my words on the page are enough. I ought to be out physically keeping abortion safe and legal, restoring the Fourth Amendment, getting clean water back into Kentucky since the Bush Administration has allowed strip miners to fill it all up with slag. The list is endless. Bring it down. Make it small. Make it one thing that you can do. It's very hard for me to remember that.”