Lillian Howan > Quotes

“You could drive around the island of Tahiti in two hours, in a day, in two days. You could pass the slower cars, the pick-up trucks with their loads of mothers and kids in ragged T-shirts, the bicycles turning in lazy circles by the side of the road, the bony yellow dogs trying to cross – if you never stopped, the drive could take less than two hours, provided that you weren't entering or leaving Papeete during the morning or late afternoon traffic jams. At the other extreme, you could visit every relative living around the island – your aunt who ran the general store in Papeari, your uncle who worked at the gas station in Mahina, your countless cousins who were expecting babies or who had just given birth, your grandmother who lived with your aunt who lived with your great-aunt...this type of tour de l'ile could take an entire day or two or three days.”
― Lillian Howan, The Charm Buyers

“When I fell sick, A-tai brewed a medicine, something with an onion root and leaves and the crumbled bits of the horrible things that would make you well.”
― Lillian Howan, The Charm Buyers

“But I tell you now, I am one hundred percent trustworthy. How do you know? Because I am a sorcerer...I think you understand," Mr. Lu said. "If I make a mistake, if I cheat them, they will find me. And do you know what they do to sorcerers who cheat them? It's better for you not to think about this. It will give you nightmares. So there. I am eighty-two years old and I am still walking around and I have a good reputation. So you can trust that my medicine will work.”
― Lillian Howan, The Charm Buyers