Jean-Paul Sartre
“I am free,” he said suddenly. And his joy changed, on the spot, to a crushing sense of anguish. — Jean-Paul Sartre, The Reprieve: A Novel. (Vintage; Reprint edition, July 7, 1992) Originally publiswhed 1945. Advertisements
Category: Fiction
John Steinbeck
I believe that there is one story in the world, and only one… . Humans are caught—in their lives, in their thoughts, in their hungers and ambitions, in their avarice and cruelty, and in their kindness and generosity too—in a net of good and evil… . There is no other story. A man, after he… Continue reading John Steinbeck
Jean-Paul Sartre
So gather me up, dear, fold me to your heart – and you’ll see how nice I can be. — Jean-Paul Sartre, from “No Exit,” No Exit and Three Other Plays. (Vintage; Reissue edition, October 23, 1989) Originally published 1947.
William Blake
Those who restrain desire do so because theirs is weak enough to be restrained. ― William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1789)
James Baldwin
I couldn’t believe it: but what I mean by that is that I couldn’t find any room for it anywhere inside me. I had kept it outside me for a long time. I hadn’t wanted to know. — James Baldwin, from “Sonny’s Blues” (1957), Going to Meet the Man. (Vintage; Reissue edition, April 25, 1995)… Continue reading James Baldwin
Cormac McCarthy
Everything you do closes a door somewhere ahead of you. And finally there is only one door left. — Cormac McCarthy, The Sunset Limited (Vintage, 2006)
Sarah Dessen
There comes a time when the world gets quiet and the only thing left is your own heart. So you’d better learn the sound of it. Otherwise you’ll never understand what it’s saying. — Sarah Dessen, Just Listen (Speak, 2008)
