Expecting Someone Taller Quotes

“Niceness, he realised, was not enough, and Love was only part of the rest. You had to have laughter, too. Laughter would make everything come out right in the end, or if it didn’t nobody would notice.”
― Tom Holt, Expecting Someone Taller

“If you’re mortal, all they can do to you is kill you.”
― Tom Holt, Expecting Someone Taller

“Having finally come to the end of this narrative, Malcolm was left with two abiding impressions: first, that Fafner the dragon, instead of keeping his money under the mattress like everyone else, had kept his mattress under the money; second, that humanity generally gets the Gods it deserves.”
― Tom Holt, Expecting Someone Taller

“But the world continued to thrive and prosper, with only the epidemic of love and romance spoiling an otherwise perfect situation.”
― Tom Holt, Expecting Someone Taller

“Books, the estate agent had told him, provide excellent insulation, and since the heating bills would be very considerable in any event, he might as well leave them there even if he had no intention of ever reading them.”
― Tom Holt, Expecting Someone Taller

“You don’t go around saying “Am I happy?” all the time, unless you’re human, of course.”
― Tom Holt, Expecting Someone Taller

“As usual when asked to think of something, Malcolm’s mind went completely blank.”
― Tom Holt, Expecting Someone Taller

“Such confusion was, however, his normal state of mind. Without it, he would feel rather lost.
Confusion is the only possible result of a lifetime of being asked unanswerable questions by one’s parents and relatives, such as ‘What are we going to do with you?’ or ‘Why can’t you be more like your sister?’ To judge by the frequency with which he encountered it, the latter problem was the truly significant one, to which not even the tremendous intellectual resources of his family had been able to find an answer.”
― Tom Holt, Expecting Someone Taller

“Suddenly, she was not pretty at all; she looked like a thousand-year-old teenager who wanted something she knew she couldn’t have.”
― Tom Holt, Expecting Someone Taller

“For some reason or other, Loge had a horrible feeling that by We, Wotan meant him.”
― Tom Holt, Expecting Someone Taller

“But something told Malcolm that plumbing made gurgling noises, not stealthy creeping noises.”
― Tom Holt, Expecting Someone Taller

“Its kitchens were enormous and capable of being put to any use except the convenient preparation of food.”
― Tom Holt, Expecting Someone Taller

“The fact that he hated and feared his new environment was largely beside the point, for he had been taught long ago that what he thought and felt about any given subject was without question the least important thing in the world.”
― Tom Holt, Expecting Someone Taller

“The next morning, Malcolm thought long and hard before waking up, for he had come to recognise over the past quarter of a century that rather less can go wrong if you are asleep.”
― Tom Holt, Expecting Someone Taller

“Pile up that gold around my head. I must take it with me to pay the ferryman.’
‘I thought it was just a coin on the eyes or something.’
‘Inflation. Also, I’ll take up rather a lot of room on the boat.”
― Tom Holt, Expecting Someone Taller

“The logical flaws and inconsistencies that riddled the tale, far from making him doubt its veracity finally convinced him that it might indeed be true; for life is like that.”
― Tom Holt, Expecting Someone Taller

“All good things must come to an end,' said Flosshilde, 'and I don't suppose he'll ever be interested in me even if he does get rid of her. Which is funny, really,' she said bitterly. 'After all, he's nothing special and I am, Heaven knows. But there you are.”
― Tom Holt, Expecting Someone Taller

“Life is about eating and drinking and sleeping and breathing and working, and not being more unhappy than you absolutely have to.”
― Tom Holt, Expecting Someone Taller

“In fact, as they will be delighted to tell you, Taunton is no longer a one-horse town; these days, they have a bicycle as well . . .”
― Tom Holt, Expecting Someone Taller

“(a man who perfectly exemplified the old saying that all work and no play makes Jack a management consultant)”
― Tom Holt, Expecting Someone Taller

“I’m perfectly cheerful, thank you,’ said Flosshilde coldly.”
― Tom Holt, Expecting Someone Taller

“Since it didn’t happen,’ said Alberich, ‘it can’t be important.”
― Tom Holt, Expecting Someone Taller

“This was partly laziness, partly caution; for if he was to remain nice and keep his mind free of malice or resentment, it would not be advisable for him to see any of his friends or relatives.”
― Tom Holt, Expecting Someone Taller

“Malcolm rubbed his eyes. ‘And my niceness is going to save the world, is it?”
― Tom Holt, Expecting Someone Taller

“His role (if he had one, which he sometimes doubted) was to provide a comparison with his elder sister Bridget.”
― Tom Holt, Expecting Someone Taller

“Malcolm turned round quite slowly. He had had a bad day, but not so bad that he could face talking badgers - talking dead badgers - with equanimity.”
― Tom Holt, Expecting Someone Taller

“...humanity generally gets the Gods it deserves.”
― Tom Holt, Expecting Someone Taller