There are some books that reached through the noise of life to grab you by the collar and speak only of the truest things.
Jeffrey EugenidesThough at this moment she felt abused, abandoned, and ashamed of herself, Madeleine knew that she was still young, that she had her whole life ahead of her--a life in which, if she persevered, she might do something special--and that part of persevering meant getting past moments just like this one, when people made you feel small, unlovable, and took away your confidence.
Jeffrey EugenidesI tell my students that when you write, you should pretend youโre writing the best letter you ever wrote to the smartest friend you have. That way, youโll never dumb things down. You wonโt have to explain things that donโt need explaining. Youโll assume an intimacy and a natural shorthand, which is good because readers are smart and donโt wish to be condescended to.
Jeffrey EugenidesThe girls took into their own hands decisions better left to God. They became too powerful to live among us, too self-concerned, too visionary, too blind.
Jeffrey EugenidesMy house fly theory is related to my theory about why time seems to go faster as you get older." "Why's that?" the girl asked. "It's proportional," Leonard explained. "When you're five, you've only been alive a couple thousand days. But by the time you're fifty, you've lived around twenty thousand days. So a day when you're five seems longer because it's a greater percentage of the whole.
Jeffrey Eugenides