Alba Cedillo

“He was too self-assured to notice when I criticised him. He registered that I'd said something, then continued a parallel conversation.”
― Naoise Dolan, Exciting Times

“She seemed to think I couldn't take compliments. I preferred to believe I disliked profuse displays of emotion and would accept any amount of praise if people tempered themselves in how they expressed it.”
― Naoise Dolan, Exciting Times

“I often lied to spare others' feelings or to make them like me. Most of my directness was by accident. But I got more social capital from pretending it was on purpose, not least because it made people assume my compliments had to be sincere. Julian seemed to trust me. Smart people often did dumb things.”
― Naoise Dolan, Exciting Times

“Still, Edith looked pleased. She nestled closer into me. I felt like abandoning everything else I did to try to be happy, and just spending the rest of my life finding things Edith needed to be told, and telling her.”
― Naoise Dolan, Exciting Times