Alice Thompson > Quotes

“And for an insane moment she thought, this is no different from normality, just women existing and surviving, this is what happens to women who don't fit into a world created by men.”
― Alice Thompson, The Book Collector

“Don't become the object of affection. It's dangerous. Certain men want to possess you entirely. Men will do anything to satisfy their desires and this can lead men down paths they are powerless to resist.”
― Alice Thompson, The Book Collector

“Those who betray others, lie and deceive, deserve each other.”
― Alice Thompson, The Book Collector

“She had been privileged and protected like a pig in a diamond-encrusted pigsty lined with red velvet cushions.”
― Alice Thompson, The Book Collector

“Do you like books, Lady Murray?' Lavinia asked.
'Just to read,' Violet said.
'A mistake. A very big mistake. A poorly bound book disintegrates. Where would our learning be then? We need something permanent, solid. We need to treat words with the respect they are due. Treasure them. Adorn the books that contain these words with leather bindings, illuminate their words with gold. We shouldn't treat learning lightly.'
'But I would treat a word scrawled on a scrap of paper with the same respect as one written on an illuminated manuscript.”
― Alice Thompson

“She often noticed it was only when we shared the same qualities that we recognised them in other people.”
― Alice Thompson, The Book Collector

“Love is...' he paused and then laughed. 'Love is like an armchair cover. It hides a multitude of sins. It's washable and may well have a riot of roses and auriculas splashed over it, but underneath everything is all ripped up.”
― Alice Thompson, Justine

“Men were so grateful, she thought, when it came to sex.”
― Alice Thompson, The Book Collector

“The pain in my stomach had come back and in the form of birds trying to peck their way out of my body.”
― Alice Thompson, Justine