Anna

“I realize it's commonplace for parents to say to their child sternly, 'I love you, but I don't always like you.' But what kind of love is that? It seems to me that comes down to, 'I'm not oblivious to you - that is, you can still hurt my feelings - but I can't stand having you around.' Who wants to be loved like that? Given a choice, I might skip the deep blood tie and settle for being liked. I wonder if wouldn't have been more moved if my own mother had taken me in her arms and said, 'I like you.' I wonder if just enjoying your kid's company isn't more important.”
― Lionel Shriver, We Need to Talk About Kevin

“It's far less important to me to be liked these days than to be understood.”
― Lionel Shriver, We Need to Talk About Kevin

“A boy is a dangerous animal.”
― Lionel Shriver, We Need to Talk About Kevin

“I didn't put in my diaphragm' I mumbled when we were through.
You stirred, 'Is it dangerous?'
'It's very dangerous,' I said.
Indeed, just about any stranger could have turned up nine months later. We might as well have left the door unlocked.”
― Lionel Shriver, We Need to Talk About Kevin