North Sun Quotes

“Time means nothing to you, you are... too young. But any pain you feel will leave you, and it will be replaced by something else, and I hope you will allow the following words to be of comfort.”
― Ethan Rutherford, North Sun: Or, The Voyage of the Whaleship Esther

“On this night, the first of the Esther's sudden stillness, he dreams that he himself is a whale. The pleasure he takes in his deep dives is pure and vain; it feels wonderful. He sleeps below; it's where he'll stay. It's time to close the book, someone whispers in his ear.
I know, he says, still in his dream. I know.”
― Ethan Rutherford, North Sun: Or, The Voyage of the Whaleship Esther

“I am a blood machine; I have lived before and will again. My heart feeds my brain; I've wrapped my feet and hands tightly so that no skin is exposed; my skin is the thing membrane that prevents my liquid from spilling out; it is what gives me shape.”
― Ethan Rutherford, North Sun: Or, The Voyage of the Whaleship Esther

“To be in this temperature is to be reminded that one is a body only, and the pain of understanding this stays with men forever.”
― Ethan Rutherford, North Sun: Or, The Voyage of the Whaleship Esther

“Ashley places his hand on hers. "It passes. Some live, some die, and some suffer at sea. But it is the ship herself who carries our appetite." As they turn from the harbor to make their way up the hill, he adds: "And who's to say that suffering isn't the point?”
― Ethan Rutherford, North Sun: Or, The Voyage of the Whaleship Esther

“The cold, unforgiving now, scrapes the insides of the men's nose with an icy finger. They feel it in the roots of their jaws.”
― Ethan Rutherford, North Sun: Or, The Voyage of the Whaleship Esther