The Hours
by
He takes good, faithful care of Evan. These days, Clarissa believes, you measure people first by their kindness and their capacity for devotion. You get tired, sometimes, of wit and intellect; everybody’s little display of genius. She
“How can I make a stranger see her as she stopped in the hall at the foot of the stairs and turned to us? I have never been able to describe even my fictitious characters except by their actions. It has always seemed to me that in a novel the reader should be allowed to imagine a character in any way he chooses: I do not want to supply him with ready-made illustrations. Now I am betrayed by my own technique, for I do not want any other woman substituted for Sarah, I want the reader to see the one broad forehead and bold mouth, the conformation of the skull, but all I can convey is an indeterminate figure turning in the dripping mackintosh, saying, 'Yes, Henry?' and then 'You?”
― The End of the Affair
― The End of the Affair
“We are sometimes so happy, and never in our lives have we known more unhappiness. It’s as if we were working together on the same statue, cutting it out of each other’s misery. But I don’t even know the design.”
― The End of the Affair
― The End of the Affair
“for aren’t lovers nearly always innocent? They have committed no crime, they are certain in their own minds that they have done no wrong, ‘as long as no one but myself is hurt’, the old tag is ready on their lips, and love, of course, excuses everything—so they believe, and so I used to believe in the days when I loved.”
― The End of the Affair
― The End of the Affair
“Well, personally, I've seen enough of people who die for an idea. I don't believe in heroism; I know it's easy and I've learned that it can be murderous. What interests me is living and dying for what one loves.”
― The Plague
― The Plague
“In the superficial activity of her life, she was all English. She even thought in English. But her long blanks and darkness of abstraction were Polish.”
― The Rainbow
― The Rainbow
Ada’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Ada’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
More friends…
Favorite Genres
Art, Biography, Book Club, Business, Classics, Fiction, Food, History, Non-fiction, Philosophy, Psychology, Religion, Science, Self help, and Spirituality
Polls voted on by Ada
Lists liked by Ada

























