78,958 books
—
294,191 voters
E desta vez traz consigo um menino cujo espírito já conheci antes. Muitos fluxos do destino agora fluem para seu encontro. Essa mulher, minha filha e o menino estão ligados em um padrão ancestral.
“Uma pessoa não vira adulta ao conseguir emprego, ao aceitar que a vida pode ser entediante, e que fazer o que detestamos durante oito horas por dia é parte integrante da experiência humana, não, não tem nada a ver com trabalho, viramos adultos quando pessoas da nossa idade morrem de forma absolutamente estúpida e podemos contemplar, com a lucidez necessária, a fragilidade e o absurdo da vida.”
― As Perguntas
― As Perguntas
“It's a very Greek idea, and a very profound one. Beauty is terror. Whatever we call beautiful, we quiver before it. And what could be more terrifying and beautiful, to souls like the Greeks or our own, than to lose control completely? To throw off the chains of being for an instant, to shatter the accident of our mortal selves? Euripides speaks of the Maenads: head thrown I back, throat to the stars, "more like deer than human being." To be absolutely free! One is quite capable, of course, of working out these destructive passions in more vulgar and less efficient ways. But how glorious to release them in a single burst! To sing, to scream, to dance barefoot in the woods in the dead of night, with no more awareness of mortality than an animal! These are powerful mysteries. The bellowing of bulls. Springs of honey bubbling from the ground. If we are strong enough in our souls we can rip away the veil and look that naked, terrible beauty right in the face; let God consume us, devour us, unstring our bones. Then spit us out reborn.”
― The Secret History
― The Secret History
“My dearest Emma," said he, "for dearest you will always be, whatever the event of this hour's conversation, my dearest, most beloved Emma -- tell me at once. Say 'No,' if it is to be said." She could really say nothing. "You are silent," he cried, with great animation; "absolutely silent! at present I ask no more."
Emma was almost ready to sink under the agitation of this moment. The dread of being awakened from the happiest dream, was perhaps the most prominent feeling.
"I cannot make speeches, Emma," he soon resumed; and in a tone of such sincere, decided, intelligible tenderness as was tolerably convincing. "If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more. But you know what I am. You hear nothing but truth from me. I have blamed you, and lectured you, and you have borne it as no other woman in England would have borne it. Bear with the truths I would tell you now, dearest Emma, as well as you have borne with them. The manner, perhaps, may have as little to recommend them. God knows, I have been a very indifferent lover. But you understand me. Yes, you see, you understand my feelings and will return them if you can. At present, I ask only to hear, once to hear your voice.”
― Emma
Emma was almost ready to sink under the agitation of this moment. The dread of being awakened from the happiest dream, was perhaps the most prominent feeling.
"I cannot make speeches, Emma," he soon resumed; and in a tone of such sincere, decided, intelligible tenderness as was tolerably convincing. "If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more. But you know what I am. You hear nothing but truth from me. I have blamed you, and lectured you, and you have borne it as no other woman in England would have borne it. Bear with the truths I would tell you now, dearest Emma, as well as you have borne with them. The manner, perhaps, may have as little to recommend them. God knows, I have been a very indifferent lover. But you understand me. Yes, you see, you understand my feelings and will return them if you can. At present, I ask only to hear, once to hear your voice.”
― Emma
“LII.
For, if you think about it,
all first hatred of strangers
contains this idea of death,
of your death which will one day walk up to you
in just such a fashion.
Buon giorno, death will say.
LIII.
What is the holiness of conversation?
It is
to master death.”
― Glass, Irony and God
For, if you think about it,
all first hatred of strangers
contains this idea of death,
of your death which will one day walk up to you
in just such a fashion.
Buon giorno, death will say.
LIII.
What is the holiness of conversation?
It is
to master death.”
― Glass, Irony and God
“It is easy to see things in retrospect. But I was ignorant then of everything but my own happiness, and I don’t know what else to say except that life itself seemed very magical in those days: a web of symbol, coincidence, premonition, omen. Everything, somehow, fit together; some sly and benevolent Providence was revealing itself by degrees and I felt myself trembling on the brink of a fabulous discovery, as though any morning it was all going to come together–my future, my past, the whole of my life–and I was going to sit up in bed like a thunderbolt and say oh! oh! oh!”
― The Secret History
― The Secret History
Goodreads Librarians Group
— 332373 members
— last activity 0 minutes ago
Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Libra ...more
✦ The Library at the End of the World ✦
— 340 members
— last activity Jul 02, 2025 09:57AM
The Library at the End of the World is a strange place: built on stable foundations, far from everything and everyone, overlooking the ocean, it conte ...more
Mia’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Mia’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
More friends…
Favorite Genres
Polls voted on by Mia
Lists liked by Mia






































