It was possible to feel superior to other people and feel like a misfit at the same time.
Jeffrey EugenidesBeing a writer is a solitary life. So the little part of me that's an actor still enjoys the theatrical part of reading and doing the voices and telling the story.
Jeffrey EugenidesThe lover`s discourse was of an extreme solitude. The solitude was extreme because it wasn`t physical. It was extreme because you felt it while in the company of the person you loved. It was extreme because it was in your head, the most solitary of places.
Jeffrey EugenidesThatโs how people live, by telling stories. Whatโs the first thing a kid says when he learns how to talk? โTell me a story.โ Thatโs how we understand who we are, where we come from. Stories are everything.
Jeffrey EugenidesMitchell had answered that, as far as he understood them, mystical experiences were significant only to the extent that they changed a person's conception of reality, and if that changed conception led to a change in behavior and action, a loss of ego.
Jeffrey EugenidesBut maybe the Charm Bracelets understood more about life than I did. From an early age they knew what little value the world placed in books, and so didn't waste their time with them. Whereas I, even now, persist in believing that these black marks on white paper bear the greatest significance, that if I keep writing, I might be able to catch the rainbow of consciousness in a jar.
Jeffrey Eugenides