Randa Jarrar > Quotes

“I knew from the beginning that home meant fighting, arguing, and embellishing, and that’s why I loved school. School was where my parents were not. Teachers were there; they taught us facts based on reality. They weren’t supposed to love us, and they didn’t. They were English and cold and didn’t resemble us at all. I liked this, that they did not hold a mirror up to me. Like some kids felt about play, school was my true escape.”
― Randa Jarrar, A Map of Home

“Uncle Fawzi said I was not to become a martyr. He said I was too smart and the homeland needed me alive.”
― Randa Jarrar

“Westerns began to make sense. The hubris of white men began to make sense. For what was this landscape but a canvas to swing a dick around in?”
― Randa Jarrar, Love Is an Ex-Country