Brutal Quotes

“I recall certain moments, let us call them icebergs in paradise, when after having had my fill of her –after fabulous, insane exertions that left me limp and azure-barred–I would gather her in my arms with, at last, a mute moan of human tenderness (her skin glistening in the neon light coming from the paved court through the slits in the blind, her soot-black lashes matted, her grave gray eyes more vacant than ever–for all the world a little patient still in the confusion of a drug after a major operation)–and the tenderness would deepen to shame and despair, and I would lull and rock my lone light Lolita in my marble arms, and moan in her warm hair, and caress her at random and mutely ask her blessing, and at the peak of this human agonized selfless tenderness (with my soul actually hanging around her naked body and ready to repent), all at once, ironically, horribly, lust would swell again–and 'oh, no,' Lolita would say with a sigh to heaven, and the next moment the tenderness and the azure–all would be shattered.”
― Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita

“Finch turned around. The slap of his bare feet on the bare floorboards as he walked to the door reminded me of the heartbeat of someone beaten down by life. Finch wasn’t beaten down yet, but his feet thought he was.”
― Eli Wilde, Orchard of Skeletons

“Her spirited blue eyes danced like elves in the night and her chestnut hair shone like the sun on autumn leaves.”
― Rowena Kinread, The Missionary

“She was overwhelmed with a premonition. Deja vu but from the future, looking back to this moment looking forward.”
― William Kely McClung, Black Fire

“Despite wanting me to end her life, after a short while, Mrs Sloan fought back with surprising strength for such a small woman. Being close to death changed people, I guess, like drinking alcohol or someone saying your handwriting is beautiful changes you.”
― Eli Wilde, Orchard of Skeletons

“These skeletons are not like the ones in the bunker,” Macy said. “These are beautiful and not strange at all. Can we take one down and put it in the car with us? It would be good company. And probably talk to me more than you do.”
― Eli Wilde, Orchard of Skeletons

“Listen to me," cried Syme with extraordinary emphasis. "Shall I tell you the secret of the whole world? It is that we have only known the back of the world. We see everything from behind, and it looks brutal. That is not a tree, but the back of a tree. That is not a cloud, but the back of a cloud. Cannot you see that everything is stooping and hiding a face? If we could only get round in front -”
― G.K. Chesterton, The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare

“Before you leave here, Sir, you’re going to learn that one of the most brutal things in the world is your average nineteen-year-old American boy.”
― Philip Caputo, A Rumor of War

“Okay, sure, he’s a great fucking guy,” Michaels didn’t try to hide his frustration. “Except for the killing everybody part.”
― William Kely McClung, Black Fire

“A truth is what it is. A lie, a thought out deception more brutal than a truth could ever be.”
― Charlotte Armstrong

“The man was scowling as if he’d had seven days’ constipation.”
― Rowena Kinread, The Missionary

“Thousands of stars glittered in an inky sky. Glow-worms sparkled in the grass and owls hooted in the distance. It was so peaceful that Patricius’ breast swelled with love and thankfulness for the Lord’s goodness.”
― Rowena Kinread, The Missionary

“It’s not always an advantage being born in high society.”
― Rowena Kinread, The Missionary

“It would be better for you to ask about the true God, whom we worship, rather than to ask questions about our race.”
― Rowena Kinread, The Missionary

“We must praise the Lord,” Patricius said. “His ways are sometimes unfathomable, but our aspiration has been granted.”
― Rowena Kinread, The Missionary

“Who stands before us today with a pure conscience? Have we not all, at some time, committed a crime in thought or in deed?”
― Rowena Kinread, The Missionary

“If thieves see us on the road, I think they’ll wait for more worthwhile victims.” Patricius smiled. He held out his hand to help a monk up from the ground. The monk’s bones were so thin that Patricius was scared to grip him tightly lest the bone crumble beneath his fingers. Their feet and shins looked like those of skeletons.”
― Rowena Kinread, The Missionary

“Patricius’ heart sank. He studied the druids and recognised a few from Antrim. They stood around the king in their white robes, their hair shaved from ear to ear, chewing their thumbnails and chanting curses. The king raised him arms to silence them. “Kill him! Kill him!” they demanded.”
― Rowena Kinread, The Missionary

“We came in peace and we shall leave in peace,” Patricius determined. “At the moment the king and his tribe do not believe, but there may come a time when they think differently, and then it will be important that we have not lodged ourselves in their memories as equally wicked as themselves.”
― Rowena Kinread, The Missionary

“Every time rocks fell or a bird screeched, Patricius felt his heart squeezing in terror. He would never recover from his youth in Hibernia.”
― Rowena Kinread, The Missionary

“He fell on his hands and knees, engulfed in darkness and a biting acrid smell. He felt the floor timidly and touched damp straw. Coughing coming from a corner revealed that he wasn’t alone. He stayed still, on the spot, waiting for his eyes to become accustomed to the dark. His eyes stung and watered from the pungent air. Gradually he could make out shadows. Shapes of people crouched and cowering together, like scared wild animals. The stench of bodies massed so close to each other, their pores oozing illness, their excretions permeating the straw flooring, overwhelmed him. He felt his stomach rebel, and he threw up what little was in it.”
― Rowena Kinread, The Missionary

“That is the sidhe bridge.” She chuckled. “The fairy bridge. The Gaels are very superstitious. They believe they must throw silver over the bridge every time they cross it, or it will bring bad luck!”
― Rowena Kinread, The Missionary

“You never change, Salvatore, always thinking of food.”
Salvatore pretended to be offended. “I’m practical, that’s all. We don’t want anyone to faint with exhaustion.”
― Rowena Kinread, The Missionary

“Thank you but no. I… I don’t love you and I believe that sex should only take place with love.”
― Rowena Kinread, The Missionary

“I believe that the Lord God has chosen me, to inflict pain upon me, so that I empathise with fellow men in need. Healthy men also see my pain and give thanks to the Lord that they are well. But I am strong, Patricius. It is better that this pain is inflicted upon myself than upon a weaker person.”
― Rowena Kinread, The Missionary

“There are no towns in Hibernia. The population is entirely rural and dispersed.”
― Rowena Kinread, The Missionary

“She was still starving.”
― Mel Ingrid, Inkman

“She’s a student, not some brass nail you’ve paid to bang away at.”
― Patrick Rothfuss

“I am a one-of-a-kind manifestation of God’s creative genius so pristinely unique that it will never be repeated in all of time and history. And while the world might devalue me in ways rogue and brutal and while I too frequently do the same, my worth simply cannot be touched.”
― Craig D. Lounsbrough

“...these ten minutes had only been the opening movements in a symphony of pain that Azriel could conduct with brutal efficiency.”
― Sarah J. Maas, A ​Court of Silver Flames