“Forgive me, for all the things I did but mostly for the ones that I did not.”
― The Secret History
― The Secret History
“Are you happy? he once asked Jude (they must have been drunk).
I don't think happiness is for me, Jude had said at last, as if Willem had been offering him a dish he didn't want to eat.
But it's for you, Willem.”
― A Little Life
I don't think happiness is for me, Jude had said at last, as if Willem had been offering him a dish he didn't want to eat.
But it's for you, Willem.”
― A Little Life
“Well, it's not called a mystery for nothing," said Henry sourly. "Take my word for it. But one mustn't underestimate the primal appeal to lose one's self, lose it utterly. And in losing it be born to the principle of continuous life, outside the prison of mortality and time. That was attractive to me from the first, even when I knew nothing about the topic and approached it less as potential mystes than anthropologist. Ancient commentators are very circumspect about the whole thing. It was possible, with a great deal of work, to figure out some of the sacred rituals-the hymns, the sacred objects, what to wear and do and say. More difficult was the mystery itself: how did one propel oneself into such a state, what was the catalyst?" His voice was dreamy, amused. "We tried everything. Drink, drugs, prayer, even small doses of poison.”
― The Secret History
― The Secret History
“Your worst sin is that you have destroyed and betrayed yourself for nothing.”
― Crime and Punishment
― Crime and Punishment
Isabella’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Isabella’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
More friends…
Favorite Genres
Polls voted on by Isabella
Lists liked by Isabella

























