“How many times have such meetings been held throughout American history? How many times have men. be they private prison executives or convict lessees, gotten together to perform this ritual? They sit in company headquarters or legislative offices, far from their prisons or labor camps, and craft stories that soothe their consciences. They convince themselves, with remarkable ease, that they are in the business of punishment because it makes the world better, not because it makes them rich.”
Source: American Prison: A Reporter's Undercover Journey into the Business of Punishment
“When I get home, I draw a bath. I pour a glass of wine, then another, and another. I try to empty my mind. Inside me there is a prison guard and a former prisoner and they are fighting with each other, and I want them to stop.”
Source: American Prison: A Reporter's Undercover Journey into the Business of Punishment
“America sends its criminals to unseen corners of our society, where they live they live monotonous lives that take away autonomy and choice, and where their time is completely owned by the institution.”
Source: Prison Food in America
“After all, alcohol is a potentially addictive poison, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying a glass of it with dinner on a regular basis. Likewise, I want to be able to enjoy a bit of fructose—potentially addictive poison anyone?—in the occasional dessert. For me, that’s part of the joy of life.
So I’ll have my glass of wine and maybe a small dish of the amazing gelato at that Italian restaurant. But I’m walking right by ninety percent of what’s for sale at my local supermarket—row after row of sugar-sweetened beverages, snacks, candy, and convenience entrees. We drink water, snack on whole fruit, rudely ignore candy, and cook from scratch.”
Source: Year of No Sugar
“Then Agnes came out the front door and down the steps with a tray of drinks, dark curls bouncing and red-rimmed glasses sliding down her nose again, wearing some kind of red dress with straps that tied on her shoulders and a skirt that whipped around her legs in the breeze, and Shane's thoughts jumped track until she led the other two women around the side of the house to the gazebo.
Agnes had damn good legs. And a great back. One pull on those ties- And she'd smiled at him, standing there in the morning sunlight. Might have been an invitation. Might not have been, too. Probably should make sure before he started untying things.”
Source: Agnes and the Hitman
“Well, nobody ever accused you of having taste," Brenda said, "Bless your heart."
"Taylor," Agnes said. "You can go now. You and the whore you rode in on. Bless her heart."
Brenda exhaled through her teeth.”
Source: Agnes and the Hitman
“He began to eat, only half-distracted by Agnes's food this time- the ham crisp and sweet, the cakes thick and light, studded with pecans, the syrup falling in ropes to mix with the melting butter”
Source: Agnes and the Hitman
“Of course you might get shot, but you can't make an omelet without breaking eggs." She handed him a plate of deviled eggs. "Have one.”
Source: Agnes and the Hitman
“Toda a roupa recebe a alma de quem a usa.”
Source: Um Rio Chamado Tempo, Uma Casa Chamada Terra
“…in that moment, as he saw and smelled how irresistible its effect was and how with lightning speed it spread and made captives of the people all around him—in that moment his whole disgust for humankind rose up again within him and completely soured his triumph, so that he felt not only no joy, but not even the least bit of satisfaction. What he had always longed for—that other people should love him—became at the moment of his achievement unbearable, because he did not love them himself, he hated them. And suddenly he knew that he had never found gratification in love, but always only in hatred—in hating and in being hated.”
Source: Perfume: The Story of a Murderer