“I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Gee, the amazing editor, and another fig was Europe and Africa and South America, and another fig was Constantin and Socrates and Attila and a pack of other lovers with queer names and offbeat professions, and another fig was an Olympic lady crew champion, and beyond and above these figs were many more figs I couldn't quite make out. I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn't make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet.”
― The Bell Jar
― The Bell Jar
“I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart. I am, I am, I am.”
― The Bell Jar
― The Bell Jar
“The silence depressed me. It wasn't the silence of silence. It was my own silence.”
― The Bell Jar
― The Bell Jar
“In Watermelon Sugar the deeds were done and done again as my life is done in watermelon sugar.”
― In Watermelon Sugar
― In Watermelon Sugar
“When I saw the car pulling into the driveway and I saw her getting out and walking towards the house, can you imagine Nadezhda, I performed involuntary excretion in my trousers.”
― A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian
― A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian
Goodreads Librarians Group
— 305644 members
— last activity 0 minutes ago
Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Libra ...more
Agatha’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Agatha’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
More friends…
Favorite Genres
Polls voted on by Agatha
Lists liked by Agatha


































