Carly

“The truth was I had always assumed that pleasure was being held in store for me, like something I was amassing in a bank account, but by the time I came to ask for it I discovered the store was empty. It appeared that it was a perishable entity, and that I should have taken it a little earlier.”
― Rachel Cusk, Second Place

“Why couldn’t you live life the way you wanted to? Why were you always strapped to the sinking people around you, why were you held to their standard of living, why was the only choice paper or plastic, rather than being able to choose to buy nothing at all?”
― Alexandra Kleeman, Something New Under the Sun

“And although there were things I had intended to say to him, words that had passed through by head many times, words that I had beloved needed to be spoken between us, I said only this: I understand. I could understand anything, under the right circumstances and for the tight person. I was both a strength and a weakness.”
― Katie Kitamura, Intimacies

“One of these days,” Joe said wrathfully, “people like me will rise up and overthrow you, and the end of tyranny by the homeostatic machine will have arrived. The day of human values and compassion and simple warmth will return, and when that happens someone like myself who has gone through an ordeal and who genuinely needs hot coffee to pick him up and keep him functioning when he has to function will get the hot coffee whether he happens to have a poscred readily available or not.” He lifted the miniature pitcher of cream, then set it down. “And furthermore, your cream or milk or whatever it is, is sour.”
The speaker remained silent.
“Aren’t you going to do anything?” Joe said. “You had plenty to say when you wanted a poscred.”
― Philip K. Dick, Ubik