ajreadsfiction

“They cannot afford to be smart with money.”
― Marie-Helene Bertino, Beautyland

“The light does not dim and continues to travel.”
― Marie-Helene Bertino, Beautyland

“I take it you don’t have children?” She samples a small spoonful of the filling. She considers the taste. “No. I’ve never had the desire. I suppose it’s made me a pariah, especially in my youth. It was expected, and I shunned the expectation. They say things are better now, that society is more accepting if you don’t want to become a mother. I’m not sure if I find that to be true. Either you want babies or, if you don’t, you must want to eat them.”
― Rachel Harrison, Cackle

“The human mind is a great thicket of mystery. So much remains unknown. And yet we are expected--in fact required--to live our lives alongside this inscrutable entity that might, at any moment, turn on us.”
― Laura van den Berg, State of Paradise