J

“Of all the riches he possesses, the right to complain is his most treasured.”
― Hiron Ennes, Leech

“Ruli spoke with the total conviction she reserved for all guesswork.”
― Mark Lawrence

“I opted not to go to Beirut. I refused to admit it, but Damascus was the last place I wanted to go. It was as though as long as I didn't go back, I could pretend that you would be there waiting for me, having a coffee on my auntie's patio and bouncing her baby on your knee. Going back to Damascus meant facing your absence, dispelling the illusion.

Facing myself in the mirror is like that. If I never cut my hair if I don't acknowledge that I've never allowed anyone to really know me, I can pretend that a perfect road awaits me. I can pretend their some medicine that will magically allow me to see myself. But going down that road might mean discovering that there is no magic strong enough to bring me into harmony. Breaking the illusion means acknowledging the parts of myself that will never be visible.”
― Zeyn Joukhadar, The Thirty Names of Night

“She had the human look of a domesticated animal.”
― Agustina Bazterrica, Tender Is the Flesh