ajreadsfiction

“Being alive has been painful, exhausting, and disappointing.”
― Xiran Jay Zhao, Iron Widow

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

“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

“She doesn't realize how anxiety influences her posture, voice, the heaviness of her footsteps, the length of time it takes her to leave the car in the driveway at the end of the workday, so that even before she enters the apartment Adina knows her mother's mood.”
― Marie-Helene Bertino, Beautyland