Khaled Khalifa > Quotes

“The exceptional had become habitual, and tragedies were simply mundane—perhaps that was the worst part of this war.”
― Khaled Khalifa, Death Is Hard Work

“In the end, though, war is war, and it wouldn’t be over easily or quickly. It carried its stench with it wherever it reached, wafting over everyone, leaving nothing as it had been. It altered souls, thoughts, dreams; it tested everyone’s capacity for endurance.”
― Khaled Khalifa, Death Is Hard Work

“La vita dona sempre un'occasione meravigliosa per prenderti gioco dei tuoi nemici, se ce l'hai fatta ad uscire vivo dalle loro mani.”
― Khaled Khalifa, Elogio dell'odio

“You need to set aside your compassion so you don’t wind up facing yourself and acknowledging the bitter truth: in the face of a meaningless death, hanging on to the self becomes a task as sacred as it is selfish.”
― Khaled Khalifa, Death Is Hard Work

“Surrendering to one’s memories is the best way of escaping the wounds they preserve; constant repetition robs them of their brilliance and sanctity.”
― Khaled Khalifa, Death Is Hard Work

“In the final months of 2013, the city had begun to feel a new pressure that no one could explain. In rare moments of clarity, Bolbol would say to himself that it was due to the idea of revenge, pure and simple, taking alarming root in the regime; it no longer wanted to win so much as to punish”
― Khaled Khalifa, Death Is Hard Work

“Victory in the revolution meant nothing to her anymore, other than the chance of seeing her son’s murderers dragged through the streets. She was gripped by fantasies of revenge for losses for which there was no possible restitution. After losing their compassion, a person becomes little more than another corpse abandoned by the roadside, one that should really be buried. She knew that she was already just such a body, but she still needed to die before she could find peace under the earth. And for her, dying was the hardest work of all. A”
― Khaled Khalifa, Death Is Hard Work

“The story of their father’s body got no sympathy from them; they had seen too many bodies already. As ever, death was so close to them that they had stopped giving it any particular consideration.”
― Khaled Khalifa, Death Is Hard Work

“In war, death is blind. It never stops to look at its victims.”
― Khaled Khalifa, Death Is Hard Work

“E' impossibile tornare ai giorni passati,riflettei,quando il passato ha portato con se tanta distruzione.”
― Khaled Khalifa, Elogio dell'odio