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21 " But she was the kind of girl you couldn't keep down. Unless you cut her up and caved in her skull. "
― Lauren Beukes , The Shining Girls
22 " Can't reinvent the wheel. But you can put your own spin on it. "
23 " Being her friend was like going to a tropical island for a little fun in the sun, only to be kidnapped by terrorists. "
24 " I'm scared, Mom." ... "It's okay, honey. It's all right. That's the big secret, don't you know? Everyone is. All the time. "
25 " Grown-up relationships are complicated. We got what we needed from each other. Passion. A safety net. Some kind of solace. It's lonely out there. But it ran its course. It was lovely while it lasted. But everything is finite. Life. Love. All this. Sadness too. Although that's harder to let go of than happiness. - Rachel Mazrachi "
26 " Oh, but fine isn't everything!' Rachel exclaims and grabs her hands and pulls her into a stepping foxtrot over the paintings, twirling her round. 'Fine is the very definition of mediocrity. It's what's polite. It's what's socially acceptable. We need to live brighter and deeper than just fine, my darling! "
27 " We do this to ourselves. Society is a poisonous hamster wheel. "
28 " If you want to kiss me again, then shut the fuck up and stop bleeding to death "
29 " Affectionate violence. For when a hug just won't do. That's a Hallmark card for you. "
30 " Nothing is infinitely reducible. You can split an atom but you can't vaporize it. Stuff sticks around. It clings to you, even when it's broken. "
31 " Six foot eight and all asshole. "
32 " You can bury your radical magazines and tear up your sexually perverse sketches and burn your sheets. But how do you erase who you are? "
33 " Fear festers in the imagination. It’s not fear’s fault. That’s just the way it’s made. Nightmares breed. Allies become enemies. Subversives are everywhere. Paranoia justifies any persecution, and privacy is a luxury when the Reds have the bomb. "
34 " And he's sorry he ever doubted the House. She's the one. One of the ones. His shining girls. "
35 " Poison shared is poison halved. Or maybe it just poisons everyone equally. "
36 " Fine is the very definition of mediocrity. It's what's polite. It's what's socially acceptable. We need to live brighter and deeper than just fine, my darling! "
37 " There is aerated ink caked in the air vents from the printing presses that shake the whole building when they run. Some reporters have ink in their veins. The Sun-Times staff have ink in their lungs. Once in a while someone will complain to OSHA. "
38 " She would disappear folded like origami into her own dreams. "
39 " ... Sometime I think I'd like to torture him to death. Other times, I think I'd forgive him. Because that would be worse. "
40 " An empty house feels a certain way. Ripe with absence. "