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Donna (Currently Busy)
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“It’s been a decade or more since I set eyes on Daryll, and it’s immediately clear that the intervening years have been less than kind to him. He’s prematurely stooped, with a ruddy complexion and a nest of black hair that’s going thin at the crown. His once-proud nose has been broken at least once, its bulbous tip stained with a frantic network of purple veins that run through his skin like rivers. But then he’s three inches taller than me, and at least six inches bulkier all round, so in some ways he’s actually rather impressive, a sort of angry bulldozer on legs.”
― A Matter of Life and Death
― A Matter of Life and Death
“So, how are you enjoying London?’ she asks me.
‘Oh, it’s fine,’ I tell her, ‘Despite being noisy and polluted, and chock-full of pigeons with warty feet.’
Emma grimaces. ‘Doesn’t sound so good.’
‘No. They get infections, from all those hours standing in their own crap. Still, they seem happy enough, so whatever.’
Emma bites her lip, stifling a smile. ‘I meant your life there generally.’
‘Oh! Well, that’s not so bad. I mean, it’s not perfect but, you know, I’m alright. I have my home. And my health.’
‘And your feet,’ Emma says, helpfully.”
― A Matter of Life and Death
‘Oh, it’s fine,’ I tell her, ‘Despite being noisy and polluted, and chock-full of pigeons with warty feet.’
Emma grimaces. ‘Doesn’t sound so good.’
‘No. They get infections, from all those hours standing in their own crap. Still, they seem happy enough, so whatever.’
Emma bites her lip, stifling a smile. ‘I meant your life there generally.’
‘Oh! Well, that’s not so bad. I mean, it’s not perfect but, you know, I’m alright. I have my home. And my health.’
‘And your feet,’ Emma says, helpfully.”
― A Matter of Life and Death
“In a way, looking back, it seemed a long, long time since she had been eighteen, but in another way her memories were so clear and vivid that it seemed like yesterday. Time was an accordion, all the air squeezed out of it as you grew old. And how strange that in your mind you did not feel any older. You were the same person, but where had the years gone?”
― ...And Ladies of the Club
― ...And Ladies of the Club
“But surely, if you trust God, you can believe the bad moments pass, and the good memories are worth enough.”
― ...And Ladies of the Club
― ...And Ladies of the Club
“Well,’ my mother says the next day as I arrive by her bedside with a fresh pot of tea. ‘What should we do?’
I look at her, puzzled. ‘Do?’ Until now, I thought we’d spend our time together doing very little, or nothing at all, and that I’d be miserable, although I’d hide it and deny it. I imagined, in other words, that we’d see one another, as we always have, across a divide.
‘The rain seems to be holding off for now,’ my mother continues, glancing out of her window. ‘Perhaps we could take a walk in the garden?’
‘You think you can walk?’
‘No. But there’s a wheelchair on the back porch. Do you feel fit enough to push me around?’
‘Well,’ I say, brightly. ‘That would certainly make a nice change.’
My mother snaps her head around and glowers at me. Confused, I replay the final lines of conversation in my head, then panic. ‘No, no,’ I say, backtracking. ‘I meant a nice change from being holed up in the bedroom.’
My mother continues to regard me with her penetrating stare. ‘Of course, you did,’ she says, drily.”
― A Matter of Life and Death
I look at her, puzzled. ‘Do?’ Until now, I thought we’d spend our time together doing very little, or nothing at all, and that I’d be miserable, although I’d hide it and deny it. I imagined, in other words, that we’d see one another, as we always have, across a divide.
‘The rain seems to be holding off for now,’ my mother continues, glancing out of her window. ‘Perhaps we could take a walk in the garden?’
‘You think you can walk?’
‘No. But there’s a wheelchair on the back porch. Do you feel fit enough to push me around?’
‘Well,’ I say, brightly. ‘That would certainly make a nice change.’
My mother snaps her head around and glowers at me. Confused, I replay the final lines of conversation in my head, then panic. ‘No, no,’ I say, backtracking. ‘I meant a nice change from being holed up in the bedroom.’
My mother continues to regard me with her penetrating stare. ‘Of course, you did,’ she says, drily.”
― A Matter of Life and Death
Bingo Reading Fun ❥
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Is your TBR shelf getting a bit too heavy? Having a hard time deciding which book to read next? Let’s play Reading Bingo! Fall-Winter Bingo starti ...more
Historical Romance Book Club
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Dear friends of the Ton, welcome to the Historical Romance Book Club, formerly known as (the Book Club)! The purpose of the group is to hold fortnight ...more
Donna (Currently Busy)’s 2024 Year in Books
Take a look at Donna (Currently Busy)’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
1,035 books
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263 friends
1,968 books
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267 friends
2,588 books
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171 friends
6,389 books
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2,890 friends
1,058 books
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1,394 friends
1,561 books
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284 friends
1,109 books
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448 friends
2,030 books
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944 friends
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Fiction and Non-fiction
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