Clare Chambers > Quotes

“Never before had she considered that all these experiences that had nearly demolished her had built her into something better.”
― Clare Chambers, Small Pleasures

“The journey into love was so effortless and graceful; the journey out such a long and laboured climb”
― Clare Chambers, Small Pleasures

“Previous experience taught her that the pain would not be unending - but neither would it subside smoothly, incrementally, but rather in a series of crashing waves, some of which might still knock her off her feet”
― Clare Chambers, Small Pleasures

“There was something almost cruel in their self-absorption and Jean had to remind herself that it was nothing personal, just a universal symptom of the disease of love. Those afflicted could not be blamed, only pitied.”
― Clare Chambers, Small Pleasures

“The journey into love was so effortless and graceful; the journey out such a long and labored climb”
― Clare Chambers, Small Pleasures

“imagine if dignity was all we had to look forward to in old age!”
― Clare Chambers, Small Pleasures

“Having done the right thing was nothing like the consolation she had hoped. Without constant congratulation, virtue was a lonely business.”
― Clare Chambers, Small Pleasures

“A lifetime of quiet watchfulness had convinced her that the truth about people was seldom to be found in the things they freely admitted. There was always more below the surface than above.”
― Clare Chambers, Small Pleasures

“You see, Howard, I wasn't always the sensible woman you see today'
'I'm only sorry you had to live through it all to become her.'
She gave him a grateful glance. Never before had she consid- ered that all these experiences that had nearly demolished her had built her into something better.”
― Clare Chambers, Small Pleasures

“The fact that his ire was aimed not at them, but at some nearby object that confounded him didn’t make it any easier to ignore; for quiet people, raised voices are experienced as a kind of aggression even when directed elsewhere.”
― Clare Chambers, Shy Creatures

“It was a delight to Jean to witness her childish pleasure in things; that interlude between the dawning of consciousness and the onset of self-consciousness was so brief.”
― Clare Chambers, Small Pleasures

“they didn’t go out; the pleasure of small acts of domestic intimacy – sharing a bath, preparing meal side by side at the stove, putting clean sheets on the bed, smoking the day’s last cigarette in the garden while they looked at the night sky – these were all still delightful.”
― Clare Chambers, Small Pleasures

“The new and threatening would become the old and familiar in due course.”
― Clare Chambers, Small Pleasures

“She’s too old for change. Now, it’s all about comfort and routine and taking pleasure in tiny treats.”
― Clare Chambers, Small Pleasures

“She had recovered her composure now, for the moment, and sounded like her idea of a sensible, rational woman. She would collapse later, she promised herself, between seven and seven-thirty, when she had got home from work and done her chores.”
― Clare Chambers, Small Pleasures

“That interlude between the dawning of consciousness and
the onset of self-consciousness was so brief.”
― Clare Chambers

“can’t be.’ She shook her head.”
― Clare Chambers, Small Pleasures

“Yes. No. I don’t know. Do you think it’s possible to hold two contradictory views at the same time?” “Perfectly. Religious folk do it all the time.”
― Clare Chambers, Small Pleasures

“With orchards and gardens bursting with delicious Kentish apples, now is the time to fetch out those favourite recipes. Spiced Apple Cake is simple to make and a nice change from a pie. It works well served warm with custard, or cold with a cup of tea in place of a traditional fruit cake. 3 apples, peeled, cored and sliced 2 tsp golden syrup 1 tbsp butter 1 tsp ground cinnamon Sponge mix: 4 oz butter 2 tbsp golden syrup 4 oz caster sugar 2 eggs 4 oz self-raising flour 1 tbsp milk Simmer the apples with the syrup, butter and cinnamon for a few minutes until tender but not mushy. To prepare the topping, soften the butter and golden syrup in a bowl over a basin of hot water. Remove from the heat and beat in the sugar and eggs. Fold in the flour, adding milk to give the consistency of lightly whipped cream. Place the apple chunks in a greased tin or ovenproof dish and pour over the topping. Bake at Gas Mark 4 for 25 to 30 minutes until the sponge is golden brown and springy to touch.”
― Clare Chambers, Small Pleasures

“The journey into love was so effortless and
graceful; the journey out such a long and laboured climb.”
― Clare Chambers, Small Pleasures

“The other certainty: if she spoke out, it must be now; if she kept quiet, it must be for ever.”
― Clare Chambers

“The journey into love was so effortless and graceful; the journey out such a long and laboured climb. (P. 328)”
― Clare Chambers, Small Pleasures

“But I don’t like anything to be ruled out.”
― Clare Chambers, Learning To Swim

“He had obviously forgotten my name already as he picked up my place card, patting his pockets helplessly for an absent pair of specs, before holding it at arm's length. "GUEST OF ADAM HARRIS," he read aloud."

"It's a bit of a mouthful, but my friends just call me Guest," I replied.”
― Clare Chambers, Bright Girls

“I looked down, surprised to find I'd finished my champagne. Not for long. Waiters were circling like lions round a pack of gazelles; at the sight of an empty glass, one of them sprang forward and refilled it.”
― Clare Chambers, Bright Girls

“in the steady gaze now fixed on Jean that was”
― Clare Chambers, Small Pleasures

“We jogged down to the promenade in companionable silence, Adam taking the occasional swig from his coffee and tearing off chunks of baguette to eat on the way. Any second now he'll get the newspaper out and start doing the crossword, I thought.”
― Clare Chambers, Bright Girls

“The past is always with me, but it’s also the past. It didn’t ruin me. It didn’t.”
― Clare Chambers, Shy Creatures

“She had observed before that when people said ‘so and so doesn’t like me’, the dislike was usually in the other direction.”
― Clare Chambers, Small Pleasures

“Although keenly alert to her mother's faults, it still pained Jean to think others might notice and judge them.”
― Clare Chambers, Small Pleasures