P.B. Kerr > Quotes

“When something needs to be said, you look for a man to say it. But when something needs actually to be done, you look for a woman.”
― P.B. Kerr, The Blue Djinn of Babylon

“To grant all a man's wishes is to take away his dreams and ambitions. Life is only worth living if you have something to strive for. To aim at.”
― P.B. Kerr, The Five Fakirs of Faizabad

“May the saddest day of your future be no worse than the happiest day of your past.”
― P.B. Kerr, The Akhenaten Adventure

“A wish is a dish that's a lot like a fish: Once it's been eaten it's harder to throw back. - Mr. Rakshasas”
― P.B. Kerr

“And tell them all about the books you've read. Better still, buy some more books and read them. That's an order. You can never read too many books.”
― P.B. Kerr, The Akhenaten Adventure

“Tea has nothing to do with being hungry," said Nimrod. "For Englishmen, it is like a canonical hour. And almost as much of an important ritual as the tea ceremony in Japan. Except for one thing. With tea, in Japan, recognition is given that every human encounter is a singular occasion which can, and will, never recur again exactly. Thus every aspect of tea must be savored for what it gives the participants. But in England, the significance occurs in the fact that teas is always the same, and will always recur again and again, exactly . For how is the endurance of a great civilization to be measured?”
― P.B. Kerr, The Akhenaten Adventure

“A second or two later, the reptile had been quite absorbed by a handsome, arrogant-looking Englishman smelling strongly of snobbery and snake.”
― P.B. Kerr, The Akhenaten Adventure

“Nothing perplexes us quite like our best pal's choice in a partner.”
― P. B. Kerr

“But Philippa was hardly listening. "It's a riddle," she declared finally, pointing to the card in the strange little round window. "I think that if we answer the riddle we can get in. Listen 'The beginning of eternity. The end of time and space. The beginning of every end. And the end pf everyplace."
John shrugged. "I don't get it."
"No, but I do," Philippa said triumphantly. "The answer is the letter e. E is the beginning of eternity, the end of time and space, the beginning of every end, and the end of everyplace.”
― P.B. Kerr

“May you have warm words on a cool evening, a full moon on a dark night, and a smooth road all the way to your door.”
― P.B. Kerr, The Five Fakirs of Faizabad

“These things take time. If it's rushed then where's the good in goodbye?”
― P.B. Kerr, The Five Fakirs of Faizabad

“Sometimes you learn the most from books you aren’t supposed to read, and words you aren’t supposed to hear.”
― P.B. Kerr, The Grave Robbers of Genghis Khan

“The whole world gets turned upside down by the wish for riches and power. If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. If wishes were soldiers, then weak men would rule. And if wishes were elixirs, then all men would live forever.”
― P. B. Kerr

“She herself was of the opinion that there would have been no need for a wish consultant if grammar had been taught properly in schools, so that mundanes could be trained to mean exactly what they said. Not wishing to be rude to her guest, however, she kept this opinion to herself.”
― P.B. Kerr, The Cobra King of Kathmandu

“Myself, I've always rather fancied being buried at sea and being eaten by fishes...seems only fair considering the amount of fish I've enjoyed eating myself.”
― P. B. Kerr, Children of the Lamp / The Akhenaten Adventure [In Japanese Language]

“If I do catch sight of my heart, I'm going to strangle the thing just to put it out of its misery.”
― P. B. Kerr

“Never make a wishbone where your backbone ought to be. Sometimes we must leave things as we find them. And we should recognize that a fact is only a fact because all our wishing cannot make it otherwise.”
― P.B. Kerr, The Cobra King of Kathmandu

“I had forgotten how much wickedness is in the world.”
― P.B. Kerr, The Five Fakirs of Faizabad

“Be careful what you wish for," said Groanin. "Not because you'll get it, but because you're doomed not to want it very much when you do.”
― P. B. Kerr