The Answer Is No

by Fredrik Backman

All he did was to remove the one thing that makes almost all people unhappy: other people.

And that may be true. But more than anything else, humans have historically proved to be in-need-of-therapy animals. And do you, dear reader, happen to know what the reason for all this therapy is? That we have company. Absolutely zero people go to therapy because yesterday they were sitting in a comfortable chair, eating a perfect pizza, drinking a good glass of red wine, watching a really funny movie.

So love is surely great, dear reader. But have you ever tried not having to share a pint of ice cream?

He works well in groups as long as it’s groups of fewer than two people.

Being smart is the worst thing one can be in modern society. All it ever means is more work.

“I usually keep my peanuts next to a jar of peanut butter, so they understand what I’m capable of!”

Don’t look on the internet for someone who is exactly like you. Look for someone who isn’t. Love is not to never fight. Love is always making up.

Love isn’t powerful enough. But spite? Spite can change the world.

Lucas is happy. It’s not as hard as one might think to become, the hard part is just to keep being it. It’s hard because it’s so easy to get in your head that if you are to be happy, you have to be happy exactly all of the time. And who in the world has the energy for that? Happiness can be exhausting. Honestly, it’s most often enough to just not be the opposite.

If you ask people what they think, they start thinking, and that’s how wars start.