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Novels Quotes

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Novels Quotes

“Judge Appleton White criticized the New England elite for not helping these new immigrants. He thought we should be educating them. These immigrants, like any new wave of immigrants, I believe, represent the values of hard work and self-reliance that founded this country. From White’s memoir, I made the connection in my lecture to the scapegoating that Latin American immigrants face today. This is an old, cyclical story in which people make it here and then they decide to close the doors behind them. The story is repeated whether you’re English, Irish, Jewish, or Latin American immigrants. But these new immigrants, whoever they are, should remind those already here, what it took to make it in America, what desire burned in these immigrants to never give up, and what kind of hope these newcomers had, despite the dangers. These are the best American values. I wanted to write about the new pilgrims of this country — nobody’s children. These people—like Turi, Molly, and Arnulfo—who represent the best values of this country. The values of trying to make it on your own. The values of fighting for your place. The values of helping each other. These are the basic values that started this country and served as its foundation. But too often we have forgotten them, and where these values came from. And this working to become American, to find your place, instead of assuming your privileged place, this is Aristotle through and through. For Aristotle, you need to work and to act to find meaning in the idea of the good. An American who is growing fat and happy in Dallas, or anywhere else, will not have that practical, in-the-trenches Aristotelian understanding of what it takes to belong after a long struggle, like a new immigrant.”

“Besides the daydreaming and getting lost in a fun story, my favorite thing about writing is the creation process. I find it both thrilling and addictive. As a writer, I form everything in my head before describing it in words: people, worlds, cultures, music, dialogue, relationships, and so on. The possibilities of creation are limitless for a writer, and that is the allure.”

“She had forced herself to learn to read – picked up bits and pieces, here and there, from the very few teachers who had been patient with her; from looking at words while out and about; from television, and from friends. And to avoid the shouting and drug-induced moaning, and the row of male visitors her mum would entertain, she would barricade herself in her room – there'd been no lock – and lose herself in books.”

“Non vorrei essere nella tua pelle se uno di questi giorni ti colgono in flagrante, Nella mia pelle non ci potresti essere, tu sei solo un soffitto di stucco, Si, ma anche quello che vedi di me è una pelle, e d'altro canto la pelle è tutto quanto vogliamo che gli altri vedano di noi, sotto la pelle neanche noi stessi riusciamo a sapere chi siamo.”

“The issue I have with people who say they love me… Is that I don’t feel loved by them. Their love often seems more like opportunism to me or masked usery. Am not saying this man don’t love me or rate me. I don’t feel that love. I don’t feel loved by him… I am not saying a family member don’t love me or isn’t a good person or hasn’t been good to me… I am just saying that this person they project or profess to be… Is someone I have never experienced… Yes you are this great person to other people… The thing is… I don’t know that person. I’ve never experienced that person and those I reserve the right to feel the way I feel about you as a person and this experience… It also can’t be love if standing up for myself makes you hate me. Love would have led to empathy and not feelings of umbrage. “You know I love you” You can say I love you. But I don’t feel loved by you… Your love means nothing to me if I don’t feel or experience it. Selah.”

“The sun rose again. Nader woke up to the sounds of the laughing doves. He giggled as he listened to their lovey chirping. They talked nonstop with the loveliest voices ever. He closed his eyes again, trying to get back to sleep while listening to their lovely chirping. It only took him a minute to remember his task. He opened his eyes wide, astonished that he almost forgot all about his friend.”

“God has a way of picking a “nobody” and turning their world upside down, in order to create a “somebody” that will remove the obstacles they encountered out of the pathway for others.”

“Speak peace unto the world and good souls will stand.”