27
" David drives back to Björnstad. Sits in the car and cries in anger. He is ashamed. He is disgusted. With himself. For an entire hockey life he has trained a boy, loved him like a son, been loved back as a father. There is no player as loyal as Benji. No bigger heart than his. How many times has David hugged number sixteen after a game and told him that? "You are the bravest bastard I know, Benji." The bravest bastard I know. " And after all those hours in locker rooms, all those nights in the bus, all the conversations and blood, sweat and tears, the boy didn't dare tell his coach his greatest secret. It's a betrayal, David knows it's a terrible betrayal. There is no other way to explain how much a grown man must have failed for such a warrior of a boy to make him think his coach would be less proud of him if he was gay. David hates himself for not being better than his father. For that is a son's job. "
― Fredrik Backman , Beartown (Beartown, #1)
29
" Kira looks at the document, sees the name of the firm representing the other party. And starts to laugh. Her colleague applied for a job there once, and didn’t get it.
“Okay, but the fact that you want to win this particular case . . . that wouldn’t be because you just happen to hate this particular firm . . . ?” Kira mutters.
Her colleague grabs her over the desk, her eyes flashing:
“No, I don’t just want to win, Kira. I want to crush them! I want to give them an existential crisis. I want them to walk out of the negotiation room and think that they might like to move to the coast and renovate an old school and open a bed-and-breakfast. I want to hurt those bastards so badly that they start meditating and trying to FIND THEMSELVES! They’ll turn vegetarian and be wearing socks with sandals by the time I’m finished with them!”
Kira sighs and laughs.
“Okay, okay, okay . . . give me the rest of the file and let’s take a look . . .”
“Socks with SANDALS, Kira! I want them to start growing their own tomatoes! I want to ruin their self-confidence until they stop being lawyers and try to be HAPPY and shit like that instead! Okay?”
Kira promises. They close the door. They’re going to win. They always do. "
― Fredrik Backman , Beartown (Beartown, #1)
33
" Han fyller sexton år idag, och hela sitt liv har han blivit retad och trakasserad. Utsidan, insidan, talet, adressen. Överallt. I skolan, i omklädningsrummet, på nätet. Det nöter ner en människa till sist, det syns inte så tydligt, för folk omkring ett mobbat barn inbillar sig att man blir väl van till sist. Aldrig, man vänjer sig aldrig. Man brinner hela tiden. Det är bara ingen som vet hur lång stubinen är, inte ens man själv. "
― Fredrik Backman , Beartown (Beartown, #1)