“Life is an act—most of it, anyway. Get out there today and pretend you’re in charge, for goodness’ sake. Do you hear me? Lift up your head and pretend.” A flicker of a smile passed over her face. “It’s the secret to everything.”
― The Dressmaker
― The Dressmaker
“The secret to life is meaningless unless you discover it yourself.”
― Of Human Bondage
― Of Human Bondage
“I like geography best, he said, because your mountains & rivers know the secret. Pay no attention to boundaries.”
― Story People
― Story People
“He said he hoped a lot of us would have careers in science,' she said. She didn't see anything funny in that. She was remembering a lesson that had impressed her. She was repeating it, gropingly, dutifully. 'He said, the trouble with the world was...'
'The trouble with the world was,' she continued hesitatingly, 'that people were still superstitious instead of scientific. He said if everybody would study science more, there wouldn't be all the trouble there was.'
'He said science was going to discover the basic secret of life some day,' the bartender put in. He scratched his head and frowned. 'Didn't I read in the paper the other day where they'd finally found out what it was?'
'I missed that,' I murmured.
' I saw that, said Sandra. "About two days ago.'
'That's right,' said the bartender.
'What is the secret of life?' I asked.
'I forget,' said Sandra.
'Protein,' the bartender declared. 'They found out something about protein.'
'Yeah,' said Sandra, 'that's it.”
― Cat’s Cradle
'The trouble with the world was,' she continued hesitatingly, 'that people were still superstitious instead of scientific. He said if everybody would study science more, there wouldn't be all the trouble there was.'
'He said science was going to discover the basic secret of life some day,' the bartender put in. He scratched his head and frowned. 'Didn't I read in the paper the other day where they'd finally found out what it was?'
'I missed that,' I murmured.
' I saw that, said Sandra. "About two days ago.'
'That's right,' said the bartender.
'What is the secret of life?' I asked.
'I forget,' said Sandra.
'Protein,' the bartender declared. 'They found out something about protein.'
'Yeah,' said Sandra, 'that's it.”
― Cat’s Cradle
Alda’s 2025 Year in Books
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