Miru

“Right. I look fine. Except I don't,' said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki had dreaded having girls: she knew she wouldn't be able to protect them from self-disgust. To that end she had tried banning television in the early years, and never had a lipstick or a woman's magazine crossed the threshold of the Belsey home to Kiki's knowledge, but these and other precautionary measures had made no difference. It was in the air, or so it seemed to Kiki, this hatred of women and their bodies-- it seeped in with every draught in the house; people brought it home on their shoes, they breathed it in off their newspapers. There was no way to control it.”
― Zadie Smith, On Beauty

“When men stop believing in God, it isn't that they then believe in nothing: they believe in everything.”
― Umberto Eco

“Either grant me the bliss of the ignorant or give me the strength to bear the knowledge.”
― Elif Shafak, The Bastard of Istanbul

“The greatest lie ever told about love is that it sets you free.”
― Zadie Smith, On Beauty