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1 " One of the multitudes of exboyfriends had been a country music fan and left Gemma with an unfortunate passion for Tammy Wynette. It was like, Cat thought, he’d given her herpes. "
― Liane Moriarty , Three Wishes
2 " There was something pathetic about the rejected wife bravely pulling herself together, joining a tennis club, doing a photography course, cutting her hair, venturing timidly back out onto the single scene. "
3 " It was always like that. They never said sorry. They just threw down their still-loaded weapons, ready for next time. "
4 " Death was the hot bath you promised yourself while you endured small talk and uncomfortable shoes. You could stop pretending to have a good time when you were dead. "
5 " Baths, she thought, were just like her relationships, all "ooh, ah" in the beginning and then suddenly, without warning, she had to get out, out, out! "
6 " I remember waking up that first morning and seeing you next to me in your sleeping bag, all curled up, and I felt so…so pleased to see you. It was like the feeling you got when you were a kid and you had a friend stay the night. While you were sleeping you’d forget he was there and then you’d wake up and see him sleeping on the mattress on the floor and you’d remember and you’d feel all happy. You’d think, Oh that’s right, good old Jimbo’s here—we’re gonna have fun today! "
7 " The bills would keep on coming, no matter what else was happening in your life and that was good because it gave you a purpose. You worked so you could pay them. You rested on the weekends and generated more bills. Then you went back to work to pay for them. That was the reason for getting up tomorrow. That was the meaning of life. "
8 " You're having one of those days of accumulating misery when you argue violently with someone in a position of power: a bank teller, a dry cleaner, a three-year-old. "
9 " Cat felt that sense of pleasure and pride that she always felt when she saw her sisters in public. “Look at them!” she wanted to say to people. “My sisters. Aren’t they great? Aren’t they annoying? "
10 " He has mistakes in his past. I have mistakes in mine. The fact that we actually are each other’s mistakes is irrelevant! "
11 " Do you have an opinion on anything?” “Not really.” It was true, in a way. Opinions were for other people. It was fascinating how upset they got about them. "
12 " Where was the “exit” sign? Why did they make it so difficult to get out of shopping center parking lots? You’d done your shopping—they weren’t going to get any more money out of you. What was their objective here? "
13 " Try not to saddle yourself with too distinct a personality too early in life. It might not suit you later on. "
14 " Maybe it wasn’t that hard to be happy. "
15 " Opinions were for other people. It was fascinating how upset they got about them. "
16 " Sometimes it felt like all the people in her life were scavengers, pecking viciously away at her flesh, wanting more, more, more. "
17 " People get pregnant from having sex, Mum. Not from a perfect marriage. "
18 " There were moments when she thought she might survive. And there were other moments when she would catch herself thinking about her life as if it was a party she couldn’t wait to leave. "
19 " They never said sorry. They just threw down their still-loaded weapons, ready for next time. "
20 " It was like every fight she’d ever had with her sisters. A wave of rage would sweep her up and carry her high and righteous until she did something embarrassingly excessive. Then it would dump her, splat, leaving her stupid and small. "