Hanan Alaali

“In a library. You don’t have to put up with reality there. It’s as if thousands of strangers have given away their imaginary friends, they’re sitting on the shelves and calling to you as you walk past. There’s an author called Donna Tartt who describes why a person falls in love with art: ‘It’s a secret whisper from an alleyway. Psst, you. Hey kid. Yes, you.’ That’s what libraries feel like for me.”
― Fredrik Backman, My Friends

“Joar was good at mending engines, because in them he could always see what was broken, but humans are full of crap you can’t see. We break in the invisible parts.”
― Fredrik Backman, My Friends

“What I hate most isn’t that people die. What I hate most is that they’re dead. That I’m alive, without them.”
― Fredrik Backman, My Friends

“... it's a lie that people are scared of being alone, because what we fear is being abandoned. You can choose to be alone, but no one chooses to be left.”
― Fredrik Backman, My Friends