Thursday, March 10, 2016

Book Gems


This week I'd like to share a couple of quotes from Elizabeth Strout's My Name Is Lucy Barton. The book is not long and the writing is spare, every phrase and sentence needs to be meaningful. These were two of my favorites:
"It interests me how we find ways to feel superior to another person, another group of people. It happens everywhere, and all the time. Whatever we call it, I think it's the lowest part of who we are, this need to find someone else to put down."
I find this doesn't just apply to our daily lives but really seems to be something I'm seeing a lot of in this presidential campaign season. As she so often is, Strout is spot on with this one. Right alongside that idea of a political connection comes this:
"It has been my experience throughout life that the people who have been given the most by our government - education, food, rent subsidies - are the ones who are most apt to find fault with the whole idea of government."
Hmm, reminds me of some of my customers, who, strangely, feel we need to discuss politics sometimes when they call.


This is, I think, my favorite gem from the book:
"I have sometimes been sad that Tennessee Williams wrote that line for Blanche DuBois, "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers." Many of us have been saved many times by the kindness of strangers, but after a while it sounds trite, like a bumper sticker. And that's what makes me sad, that a beautiful and true line comes to be used so often that it takes on the superficial sound of a bumper sticker." 
Shouldn't we always be able to count on the kindness of strangers, shouldn't that be a good thing? It's something of a way of life here, yet I know there are those that mock the kindness of people in the  Midwest.

What book gems have you come across lately?

10 comments:

  1. Interesting quotes from this book, which I haven't read, referring to the good and bad sides of our nature. Two books that I've read lately are ones I would re read as there's so much thought-provoking content to take in, Life after Life and A God In Ruins. One of the characters in A God In Ruins is not a particularly 'nice' person, but Kate Atkinson shows a different side to her when it's revealed what she really thinks about herself. "Viola sensed there was a better person inside her than the one who wanted to punish the world for its bad behaviour all the time (when her own was so reproachable). Perhaps writing would be a way of letting that person out into the daylight". Not that Viola changes. She has a difficult relationship with her father and her motivation for her novel writing and the subject matter of the first book based on this seems rather self-indulgent, but it gives the reader an insight into what she's really thinking during a particular time in her life. Put-downs are destructive, the folk who verbally engage in this are sad cases. Kindness on the other hand is an admirable quality and one which we hope prevails in our society right now.

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    1. I've been wanting to pick up God In Ruins; I even have it in a virtual book bag. You've convinced me to go put that order in!

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  2. This book seems to have all kinds of thought provoking lines. Thanks for sharing these. I need to read it.

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  3. Those are great quotes, Lisa. Thank you for sharing.

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    1. This book I did enjoy and found a lot of quotes I liked. What I love about books is that I often find great quotes in books I don't particularly like, as well. Always makes me think that with more editing those books could have been better.

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  4. I love these quotes. I have this audio on hold at the library. There's a few people ahead of me though. I'm pretty sure I have the book so I could always read it sooner. I really enjoy her books.

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    1. I'll be interested to hear what you think of the audio version. I think it could work really well that way.

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  5. Lovely. I am looking forward to reading this (and since I'm in the throes of Tournament-of-Books addiction, I hope it will be shortlisted next year!)

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    1. You and the dogs are making great progress on the Tournament books!

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