Home > Work > Us Against You (Beartown, #2)
181 " When the teacher gets into his car, he finds himself thinking of a quote by some philosopher: “Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is.” He tries to remember who wrote it. Albert Camus, perhaps? He occupies his mind with this as he drives through Beartown, along the road, and out of the forest, because if he concentrates hard enough on those words, all the other feelings can’t overwhelm him and stop him from seeing the road ahead of him. Far behind the car Benjamin Ovich gets onto his bicycle and sets off in a different direction. Perhaps he’ll be free one day. But not today. "
― Fredrik Backman , Us Against You (Beartown, #2)
182 " He’s twelve years old, and this summer he learns that people will always choose a simple lie over a complicated truth, because the lie has one unbeatable advantage: the truth always has to stick to what actually happened, whereas the lie just has to be easy to believe. When a vote of the "
183 " Being a mother can be like drying out the foundations of a house or mending a roof: it takes time, sweat, and money, and once it's done everything looks exactly the same as it did before. It's not the sort of thing anyone gives you praise for. But spending an extra hour in the office is like hanging up a beautiful painting or a new lamp: everyone notices. "
184 " One year? What wouldn't we give for one more year? A year is an eternity. "
185 " They always are, but when politics work in our favor we call it “cooperation,” and when it favors others we call it “corruption. "
186 " Because sometimes hating one another is so easy that it seems incomprehensible that we ever do something else. "
187 " No matter how old they get, we never want to cry in front of our children. We'd do anything for them; they never know because they never understand the immensity of something that is unconditional. A parent's love is unbearable, reckless, irresponsible. "
188 " Women are always the problem in the men's world. "
189 " for the simple reason that many of our worst deeds are the result of our never wanting to admit that we’re wrong. The greater the mistake and the worse the consequences, the more pride we stand to lose if we back down "
190 " Because people are always dependent upon other people, and we can't ever really forgive one another for that. "
191 " Everyone is a hundred different things, but in other people's eyes we usually get the chance to be only one of them "
192 " Winners always get the last shot right. "
193 " When everything else is collapsing, you throw yourself into the only thing you know you can control, the only place you feel you know what you're doing. Everything else hurts so much. "
194 " Ana pushes him away when he starts whispering in "
195 " Sometimes it doesn't take anything at all for us to start loving something, just time. "
196 " Grief and anger can reprogram a brain like chemicals and drugs do. Maybe there's a time bomb inside some people's heads the whole time, just waiting for a switch to be thrown. "
197 " new lamp: everyone notices. Peter talks to her, she talks to him, but without making eye contact. How was your day? Fine, how was yours? Fine. Have the kids eaten? Yes, there’s leftovers in the fridge. Can you drive them to school tomorrow? I need to get to the rink early. She says “Of course” even though she feels like yelling “And what about my job?” He says “Thanks” even though he feels like whispering “I feel like I’m drowning.” She says “No problem” when she feels like shouting “Help!” Neither of them says anything else, even though they’re both thinking “I miss us.” Peter leaves the kitchen without running his fingertips through her hair. She sits "
198 " When Peter and Kira had their first child, Isak, Kira said to him, "This is what we are now. Everything else comes after this. First and foremost, we are parents!" Peter already knew that, of course. All parents know. It's not a voluntary process, it's an emotional assault; you become someone else's property the first time you hear your child cry. You belong to that little person now. Before everything else. So when something happens to your child, it never stops being your fault. "
199 " and come home late in the evening with torn clothes and dirty faces, childhood in their eyes. That’s all gone. They’re adults now. For some girls that isn’t something you choose, it’s "
200 " There’s a clock on the wall of the changing room; it’s stopped, "