Boats on Land Quotes

“Stories are told at festive, joyful gatherings, but the ones narrated at funerals are special because they reaffirm existence, of the listeners and the narrators. They are times of remembrance that haul the past into the present, and keep people alive even when they’re gone.”
― Janice Pariat, Boats on Land

“I feel the weight of everyone's history press down on me like relentless rain.”
― Janice Pariat, Boats on Land

“I had a Muslim neighbour once who did the Hajj. He went to Mecca, did the whole route—Mina, Arafah, seven times around the Kaabah, of course, and prayers at the masjid. You know what he told me was the best part? Coming home. And that’s what pilgrimages are for, really. To think about the places and people you leave behind.”
― Janice Pariat, Boats on Land

“Why is this place called Laitlum?’ asked Melvin suddenly.
‘It means where the hills are set free,’ answered Grace.
‘Yes, but why? Don’t you Khasis have a story for everything?’
‘I’m sure there is, something about a cruel giant, or evil serpent, or some person caught by spirits and water fairies. But who cares?’ she said, ‘Folk stories are rubbish.’
Chris sipped the rum. ‘Why?’
‘Because they have nothing to do with the world we live in, they’re not real.’
‘They might not be real to you, but…’
‘Look at what’s going on,’ she interrupted. ‘Is there time for folk tales when people are shooting each other across their own town roads?’
‘Perhaps that’s when they need them most.’
My sister shook her head. ‘Maybe once they taught people something about life, and how to live it but not any more. Now you figure things out for yourself, you can’t depend on anyone else to get you out of shit.”
― Janice Pariat, Boats on Land

“He remembered something his father had once told him, that the kite held the soul of the person who flew it. ‘What does that mean, abba?’ he’d asked, and his father had replied, ‘What you feel flows through the string.”
― Janice Pariat, Boats on Land

“I imagine you waiting, like when I first found you, for someone to lead you out to where all rivers end, to the sea.”
― Janice Pariat, Boats on Land

“Unlike the hills and mist, for us freedom doesn't last a lifetime; it comes and goes on unexpected afternoons.”
― Janice Pariat, Boats on Land