Alison

“There's a tree that grows in Brooklyn. Some people call it the Tree of Heaven. No matter where its seed falls, it makes a tree which struggles to reach the sky. It grows in boarded-up lots and out of neglected rubbish heaps. It grows up out of cellar gratings. It is the only tree that grows out of cement. It grows lushly . . . survives without sun, water, and seemingly without earth. It would be considered beautiful except that there are too many of it.”
― Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

“A funny thing about women and machines: the combination made men curious. They seemed to think it had something to do with them.”
― Rachel Kushner, The Flamethrowers