375 books
—
516 voters
Without positive obsession, there is nothing at all.
“There was something in his manner of seduction, no show of desire at all; what he offered was a transaction, and again he showed no disappointment when reflexively and without hesitation I said no to him. It was the answer I had always given to such proposals (which are inevitable in the places I frequent), not out of any moral conviction but out of pride, a pride that had weakened in recent years, as I realized I was being shifted by the passage of time from one category of erotic object to another.”
― What Belongs to You
― What Belongs to You
“But I'm your son, which was my only appeal and the last thing I would say. He made a dismissive sound, almost a laugh, and then he spoke again, with a snarling voice I had never heard before, he said The hell you are. He went on, he spoke without stopping, A faggot, he said, if I had known you would never have been born. You disgust me, he said, do you know that, you disgust me, how could you be my son? As I listened to him say these things it was as though even as I laid claim to myself I found there was nothing to claim, nothing or next to nothing, as though I were dissolving and my tears were the outward sign of that dissolution.”
― What Belongs to You
― What Belongs to You
“I fell back from him then, I lay next to him thinking, as I had had cause to think before, of how helpless desire is outside its little theater of heat, how ridiculous it becomes the moment it isn't welcomed, even if that welcome is contrived.”
― What Belongs to You
― What Belongs to You
“I realized that my pleasure wasn't lessened by his absence, that what was surely a betrayal (we had our contract, though it had never been signed, never set in words at all) had only refined our encounter, allowing him to become more vividly present to me even as I was left alone on my stained knees, and allowing me, with all the freedom of fantasy, to make of him what I would.”
― What Belongs to You
― What Belongs to You
“I had been sick before, of course, but this felt more than sickness, like a physical confirmation of shame.”
― What Belongs to You
― What Belongs to You
Romania
— 4924 members
— last activity May 21, 2026 01:50AM
Grupul Romania, deschis tuturor celor de nationalitate romana, rudelor si prietenilor acestora, indiferent de unde sunt, locuiesc, traiesc prin lume. ...more
Torino Book Club
— 264 members
— last activity Oct 08, 2025 10:08AM
Gruppo che nasce con l'intento di far incontrare noi lettori di Torino, discutere dei libri che più ci hanno appassionati e scambiarne altrettanti se ...more
Robert’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Robert’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
More friends…
Favorite Genres
Polls voted on by Robert
Lists liked by Robert












































