The Boy from the Woods Quotes

“America was waking up, as Germany once did, to the awareness that one-third of our people will kill one-third of our people while one-third of our people watches.”
― Harlan Coben, The Boy from the Woods

“We talked about how most Americans used to be in the middle, relatively speaking. That’s how America kept its balance all those years. The left and the right were close enough to have disagreements but not hate.” “Okay.” “That world is gone, Gavin, and so it will now be easy to destroy the social order. The middle has become complacent. They are smart, but they are lazy. They see the grays. They get the other side. Extremists, on the other hand, see only black”
― Harlan Coben, The Boy from the Woods

“Life isn’t lived in the black and white, Wilde. People like to think so nowadays. All the online outrage, things are either all good or all bad. But life is lived in the gray. Life is lived in the nuances.”
― Harlan Coben, The Boy from the Woods

“Extremists are relentless. They don’t see right or wrong—they see us and them.”
― Harlan Coben, The Boy from the Woods

“Man may be evil or good, that wasn’t the issue. The issue was that man rarely considered the consequences of his actions. In short, man was often just plain stupid.”
― Harlan Coben, The Boy from the Woods

“You grow immune to cruelty. It becomes the norm. You accept it. You move on.”
― Harlan Coben, The Boy from the Woods

“Someone once told Hester that memories hurt, the good ones most of all. As she got older, Hester realized just how true that was.”
― Harlan Coben, The Boy from the Woods

“Memory makes demands that you often can’t keep. Memory is faulty because it insists on filling in the blanks.”
― Harlan Coben, The Boy from the Woods

“Man may be evil or good, that wasn’t the issue. The issue was that man rarely considered the consequences of his actions.”
― Harlan Coben, The Boy from the Woods

“Rusty turned to him. “Are you familiar with the horseshoe theory of politics?” “What about it?” “Most people think, politically speaking, that the right and the left are on a linear continuum—meaning that the right is on one side of the line, and the left is obviously on the other. That they are polar opposites. Far apart from one another. But the horseshoe theory says that the line is, well, shaped more like a horseshoe—that once you start going to the far right and the far left, that the line curves inward so that the two extremes are far closer to one another than they are to the center. Some go as far as to say it’s more like a circle—that the line bends so much that far left and far right are virtually indistinguishable—tyranny in one form or another.” “Senator?” “Yes?”
― Harlan Coben, The Boy from the Woods

“he needed the woods. When he was away from these trees for too long, he felt as though he was suffocating, as though his lungs were ready to completely shut down.”
― Harlan Coben, The Boy from the Woods

“people believe any crackpot conspiracy they see online.”
― Harlan Coben, The Boy from the Woods

“read a quote recently from Werner Herzog. You know who he is?” “The German film director.” “Right. He said that America was waking up, as Germany once did, to the awareness that one-third of our people will kill one-third of our people while one-third of our people watches.”
― Harlan Coben, The Boy from the Woods

“child comes out hardwired. That was what you learned as a parent—that your kid is who he is and what he is and that you, as a parent, greatly overstate your importance in his development. A dear friend once told her that being a parent is like being a car mechanic—you can repair the car and take care of the car and keep the car on the road, but you can’t fundamentally change the car. If a sports car drives into your garage for repairs, it isn’t driving out an SUV. Same with kids.”
― Harlan Coben, The Boy from the Woods

“Qué triste que el mundo fuera así... ¿De verdad lo que queremos es armar a dos tipos así y colocarlos a las puertas de un colegio? ¿De verdad queremos proteger a nuestros niños dándoles pistolas a dos policías frustrados mal pagados y luego mezclarlos con un puñado de adolescentes capullos?”
― Harlan Coben, El chico del bosque

“¿Te suena la teoría política de la herradura? —¿Qué tiene que ver? —La mayoría piensa que izquierda y derecha son un continuo lineal, lo que querría decir que la derecha está en un extremo de la línea, y que la izquierda, evidentemente, está en el contrario. Que son posiciones opuestas. Muy alejadas la una de la otra. Pero la teoría de la herradura dice que la línea tiene más bien forma de herradura, que cuando empiezas a acercarte hacia el extremo derecho o hacia el extremo izquierdo, la línea se curva hacia el interior, de modo que la distancia entre los dos extremos es mucho menor que la que hay de uno de ellos al centro. Hay incluso quien dice que se trata más bien de un círculo: que la línea se curva tanto que la extrema izquierda y la extrema derecha son prácticamente indistinguibles, una tiranía, sea de un modo o de otro. —¿Senador? —Sí. —Yo también he estudiado ciencias políticas. —Entonces entenderás lo que intento hacer. —Rusty se le acercó, conteniendo una mueca de dolor al apoyar el pie en el suelo.”
― Harlan Coben, El chico del bosque

“A child comes out hardwired. That was what you learned as a parent—that your kid is who he is and what he is and that you, as a parent, greatly overstate your importance in his development.”
― Harlan Coben, The Boy from the Woods

“A child comes out hardwired. That was what you learned as a parent—that your kid is who he is and what he is and that you, as a parent, greatly overstate your importance in his development. A dear friend once told her that being a parent is like being a car mechanic—you can repair the car and take care of the car and keep the car on the road, but you can’t fundamentally change the car. If a sports car drives into your garage for repairs, it isn’t driving out an SUV.”
― Harlan Coben, The Boy from the Woods

“possibilities”
― Harlan Coben, The Boy from the Woods

“Do we really want to protect our children by giving guns to two underpaid cop wannabes and then mixing them in with a bunch of wiseass teens? Seemed a recipe for disaster. Wilde”
― Harlan Coben, The Boy from the Woods

“In short, man was often just plain stupid.”
― Harlan Coben, The Boy from the Woods

“Are you familiar with the horseshoe theory of politics?” “What about it?” “Most people think, politically speaking, that the right and the left are on a linear continuum—meaning that the right is on one side of the line, and the left is obviously on the other. That they are polar opposites. Far apart from one another. But the horseshoe theory says that the line is, well, shaped more like a horseshoe—that once you start going to the far right and the far left, that the line curves inward so that the two extremes are far closer to one another than they are to the center. Some go as far as to say it’s more like a circle—that the line bends so much that far left and far right are virtually indistinguishable—tyranny in one form or another.” “Senator?” “Yes?” “I studied political science too.” “Then you’ll understand what I’m trying to do.” Rusty came closer, wincing as he limped. The shattered leg from that terrible night too often tightened up. “Most Americans are in the middle relatively speaking. Most are somewhat left or right of that center. Those people don’t interest me. They are pragmatic. They change their minds. Voters always think the president has to appeal to those folks—the center. Half the country more or less is right, half is left, so you need to grab the middle. That’s not what I’m doing.” “I don’t see what that has to do with the Maynards,” Gavin said. “I am the next evolution of our outrage-fueled, social-media-obsessed political culture. The final evolution, if you will. The end of the status quo.”
― Harlan Coben, The Boy from the Woods

“Do you remember when we discussed the horseshoe theory of politics?” “Yes, of course.” “We talked about how most Americans used to be in the middle, relatively speaking. That’s how America kept its balance all those years. The left and the right were close enough to have disagreements but not hate.” “Okay.” “That world is gone, Gavin, and so it will now be easy to destroy the social order. The middle has become complacent. They are smart, but they are lazy. They see the grays. They get the other side. Extremists, on the other hand, see only black and white. They are not only certain that their vision is absolutely correct, but they are incapable of even understanding the other side. Those who don’t believe as they do are lesser in every way, and so they will kill for that vision. I get those people, Gavin. And I want to create more of them by forcing those in the middle to choose a side. I want to make them extremists too.” “Why?” “Extremists are relentless. They don’t see right or wrong—they see us and them. You’re a baseball fan, aren’t you, Gavin?” “I am.” “A Yankee fan, right?” “So?” “So if you found out the Yankee manager cheated or that all your favorite Yankees took steroids, would you then become a Red Sox fan?” Gavin said nothing. “Well?” “Probably not.” “Exactly. The Yankees could never do anything that would make you a Red Sox fan. That’s the power I want to harness. I read a quote recently from Werner Herzog. You know who he is?” “The German film director.” “Right. He said that America was waking up, as Germany once did, to the awareness that one-third of our people will kill one-third of our people while one-third of our people watches.” Rusty put his hand on Gavin’s shoulder. “You and I are going to change the world, my friend.” He leaned forward. “Drop me off up ahead on the next corner.”
― Harlan Coben, The Boy from the Woods

“one”
― Harlan Coben, The Boy from the Woods

“Most people think, politically speaking, that the right and the left are on a linear continuum—meaning that the right is on one side of the line, and the left is obviously on the other. That they are polar opposites. Far apart from one another. But the horseshoe theory says that the line is, well, shaped more like a horseshoe—that once you start going to the far right and the far left, that the line curves inward so that the two extremes are far closer to one another than they are to the center. Some go as far as to say it’s more like a circle—that the line bends so much that far left and far right are virtually indistinguishable—tyranny in one form or another.”
― Harlan Coben, The Boy from the Woods

“Create the problem—then monetize the solution.”
― Harlan Coben, The Boy from the Woods

“Hands in plain view approaching a high school. What a world.”
― Harlan Coben, The Boy from the Woods

“They ate like trash compactors with feet.”
― Harlan Coben, The Boy from the Woods

“Hester sat at the news desk on a leather-backed”
― Harlan Coben, The Boy From the Woods

“walls,”
― Harlan Coben, The Boy from the Woods