Mary A

“The plan was, naturally, flawless. All truly ingenious plans are flawless at the moment of their conception; their defects become apparent only later, when they encounter reality, which has an unfortunate tendency not to cooperate.”
― Boris Akunin, Special Assignments

“To live in Aliya’s house, cook for her, share her child, and yet resist permanence, then also beg to be forced to stay. To be forced was to surrender responsibility, it was to saddle Aliyah with all the blame. If Hana wanted to leave she could have left, but for months she had remained, and now she was making Aliyah pay.”
― Jumaana Abdu, Translations

“Birds! (Silence, everyone completely focused) For too long the humans have drawn their lines on shared soil and claimed ownership of what they cannot own. (Lots of nodding and muttering in assent) Tomorrow we shall march into the big field and eat. (Big cheers) And then we shall eat in the other fields too. (Even bigger cheers) We shall eat in the wheat fields; we shall eat in the barley fields. (Much bigger cheers) We shall eat the oats and the legumes! (Deafening cheers) And when they throw manure at us, well, perhaps we shall eat that too. (Went a bit quiet) And we shall never surrender! (Huge cheers and applause).”
― Adrian Bliss, The Greatest Nobodies of History: Minor Characters from Major Moments

“Tell me’ said Valens. ‘What do your family make of Tilla?’…’Some of them quite like her’ said Ruso. ‘The rest are somewhere between horror and resignation.”
― R.S. Downie