Jodie Chapman > Quotes

“Do you think we’ll be friends? I say, feeling the light hairs on her knee. You know, in the future. Will we still be talking to each other? Anna looks at me with long, slow blinks. A slight shake of her head. Too many sparks, she says. I don’t fancy catching on fire.”
― Jodie Chapman, Another Life

“We went back and forth like that for a while. Sending each other the name of a film the other should watch, or books, or a song they should hear. We didn’t have permission to say what we wanted to say, and even if we did, there was no guarantee we would have done so. We kept to pop culture and the words of other people to speak for us.”
― Jodie Chapman, Another Life

“It’s like being in a room where everyone’s dancing. They sway and clap and stamp their feet, but you can’t hear the music. You want to, my God, you want to. They’re smiling and having the time of their lives, and they slap your back like you feel it too. And in that moment, you have a choice. You can start to dance and hope you’ll hear it, because maybe the music really is playing and it’s you that’s the problem. Or you refuse to pretend and you shake your head and say I don’t hear it.’ Her”
― Jodie Chapman, Another Life

“Has it ever struck you that life is all memory, except for the one present moment that goes by you so quick you hardly catch it going?”
― Jodie Chapman, Another Life

“I thought of Mathilde, her recognition of herself and the way she lived without seeking the approval of others. Like a magnet, I was attracted and repelled by her. Both charges are potent. And just as a magnet has the power to control or cause chaos, depending on how an object yields to its force, Mathilde had the potential to alter my world, for better or for worse. She was a fire that could not be contained, and I was the spectator. Fascinated. Terrified.”
― Jodie Chapman, Another Life

“But it’s not just that. You have always been dangerous for me. Forbidden. I feel both safe and terrified around you, and I can’t decide if that makes you completely wrong, or exactly right.”
― Jodie Chapman, Another Life

“She does talk about herself a lot.’ ‘She likes herself!’ he almost shouted. ‘What’s wrong with that? You want us all to hate ourselves and be miserable and make sure everyone else knows it?’ I ran through the night in my head; the hair flicking, the confident way she ordered wine – no asking the waiter for his recommendation or canvassing the table for their preferences – the cool and calm acceptance of every nice thing said about her. She liked who she was. She wasn’t afraid of herself. I knew I found that threatening.”
― Jodie Chapman, Another Life

“I don’t get why you would want Mathilde’s life.’ She sighed. ‘I’m not saying I do. I just know that even if I did, I’d never get it. She’s just one of those girls.’ ‘What girls?’ ‘The rule breakers. They do what they like and it still works out fine.”
― Jodie Chapman, Another Life

“He sighed. 'It would be good to bring in some younger blood. We need to diversify. I'd like to send someone out to pitch to the bigger companies, and... don't take this the wrong way, Isobel, but you're more suited to a background role.'
She said nothing, but overdid his gravy.”
― Jodie Chapman, Oh, Sister

“Too much? I am too much for you. I will go on talking like this of how you could never handle me and how this would never have worked until you stop my mouth with your tongue”
― Jodie Chapman, Another Life