Soullessmaiden

“People liked to think of beauty as some natural gift, but Savine firmly believed that just about anyone could be beautiful, if they worked hard at it and spent enough money. It was merely a question of emphasising the good, disguising the bad and painfully squeezing the average into the most impressive configuration. Very much like business, really.”
― Joe Abercrombie, A Little Hatred

“... er tida en sekk du kan stappe inn i hvor mye som helst, går den aldri bare herfra til dit, men i stedet i sirkel etter sirkel, og så kommer du tilbake hver eneste gang til stedet hvor du begynte.
Men det var ikke sånn heller. Før var jeg ung, nå var jeg ikke ung. Jeg ble aldri ung igjen.”
― Per Petterson, I Refuse

“Jag har gråa dagar och svarta stunder. Jag är inte lycklig. Dock känner jag ingen som jag ville byta med; mitt hjärta krymper ihop vid föreställningen att jag kunde vara den eller den bland mina bekanta. Nej, jag ville inte vara någon annan.
...
Jag tycker inte särdeles mycket om mig själf, hvarken skalet eller innanmätet. Men jag ville inte vara någon annan.”
― Hjalmar Söderberg, Doctor Glas

“But the risk of making any choice is always that you might make the wrong one. We must make our choices nonetheless. Fear of being a grown-up is a poor reason to remain a child.”
― Joe Abercrombie, A Little Hatred