Sarah

“It was later, when she was in her old bed in the dark, that the shock of it sank in. He was gone, and she was on her own with the child. She would never find happiness again. There was a pain sitting like a lump in her chest, a proper presence, and an anxious charge like a current through her limbs. Her ears hummed as she lay trembling in the dark, and for the first time in that long day her tears flowed. It felt as if love had fled from her forever.”
― Abdulrazak Gurnah, Theft

“They talk to everyone. Even Kasha.” “About Ancient Chinese verbs, Max,” Aubrey said, exasperated. “That’s the opposite of social skills, that’s projectile autism.”
― Natasha Pulley, The Mars House

“This is . . . why English has two or three words for everything,” Gale said, as though they were worried January might feel the shoelace urge too. “You get yourself a drink, but a flight attendant offers you a beverage menu. Drink is German, but beverage is French; more formal. Half of English comes in pairs or triplets with the same meaning but different levels of formality.”
― Natasha Pulley, The Mars House

“I’ll tell you about rage, and a complicated man.”
― Natasha Pulley, The Hymn to Dionysus