The Book of I Quotes

“No woman is more consuming of a man’s imagination than one who is locked away. The less there is to see, the more there is to imagine.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“God willing, you have many years ahead of you. When you’re young, the weight of the future can seem a burden at times, but I want to tell you, in each day which passes, no matter how hard it feels to bear, you can find something, Something to lighten the load: a joke, a face, some food, a song, a child, a man. Sometimes all of them in one day.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“Always give alms. Don’t eat unless you’re hungry. Don’t sleep unless you’re tired. Don’t speak unless you have to. Everything you get, give it away. Love God with all your heart and strength. Love your neighbour as yourself and obey the testaments of God at all times.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“You might think only a poor woman can be humble, but, if such a woman gives her life to the Church, she doesn’t have to give up very much since she doesn’t have very much to start with. I, on the other hand, who was blessed with servants, comfort, honour and jewels, have given away everything. I don’t think it’s possible to be more humble than that. She wondered if she ought to write this down. These were the sorts of insight she could probably expect quite often now that she was an anchoress.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“You might think only a poor woman can be humble, but, if such a woman gives her life to the Church, she doesn’t have to give up very much since she doesn’t have very much to start with. I, on the other hand, who was blessed with servants, comfort, honour and jewels, have given away everything. I don’t think it’s possible to be more humble than that.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“His flesh turned to wood. He became a tree . . . His roots reached down into I, curling and splitting like the inside of a lung. His arms became branches, reaching up and multiplying, his hands sprouting thin green leaves and clouds of pale blossom. . . . an ash.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“Now it was high summer. Night made hardly a smear on the long blue days. The island had long forgotten the ache of winter’s grip. Bees hovered over the flowers in the garden even into the late evening. Small birds shouted to each other in the oak grove.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“She told him dreams were nothing more than overheard conversations from a world behind this world. Not meant for us.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“Since God was beyond understanding, God’s words must also be beyond understanding. All human readings of scripture were, by definition, degraded, earthly and failed. The moment a monk felt that he had understood a line, he must, at the same time, realise he had not.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“Aed had taught Martin there were three different ways to understand scripture. 1. The Present Meaning 2. The Hidden Meaning 3. The Mysteries”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“Martin heard them. He wrapped himself tightly in his blanket. The laughter made him smile. Maybe, when it reached Heaven, it would make God smile, too. Who knows?”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“I said this thing was a thing too little for even God to care about. The smith said: “Wife, it’s my duty to correct you. I am your husband, and I am telling you now, God cares very, very, very much about even the smallest things.” And I said: “Well, it’s good to know he cares about your dick then.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“It was the loveliest, strangest story she had ever heard, and it was about her.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“It was like being covered in honey and going to bed with a bear.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“Grimur came to a conclusion he’d been groping towards from his very first moments on I. Christians are strange.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“Slaves, women, beggars, children, the sick, the feeble-minded . . . The Holy Spirit is in them all . . . Criminals, sinners, even the lowest of the low. God loves them all. Martin threw up his arms excitably. Imagine! Grimur did imagine. He felt it was an implausible and vaguely comical idea and not one he wanted to spend much time on, because this evening they had to rescue a cow.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“He was so gentle with the beast. So careful with the udder. How could these be the same hands that had killed the smith? Maybe he just really likes tits?”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“Grimur took Blossom’s ear and spoke to her in Norse. He used soft words that a cow would understand, the way Berta had shown him when he was a boy. As best he could, he explained to the beast that her usual master was dead. Grimur was going to milk her today. Did she mind? Would she give him permission to begin? Moo. Blossom gave permission.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“Saint Fillan, the monastery cat stretches in the sun. Things happen and then they pass.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“Things happen and then they pass.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“He performed many miracles. For example, he opened locked doors, he subdued a bear, he foretold of future events, he defeated wizards and he brought the Picts to Christ. They also made together many manuscripts of the Gospels and other holy books. Saint Colm lit the fire of God here. Since then, that fire has never gone out, and if the Lord gives me strength, it never will.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“Two centuries ago, Saint Colm, who was then a well-known and very holy man, became tired of Ireland and went looking for a new place to found a house. This was to be somewhere from where he could send out missions to pagans and gather souls for Christ, as well as do the work of the Lord with prayer and writing. So, Saint Colm and his twelve brothers took to the sea in their currachs and let the wind blow them where it would. Well, the wind blew them to I. They landed on the cobbled beach, and Saint Colm said to his brothers: “This is the right place.” Then he climbed Dùn Ì and turned his back on Ireland for ever.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“Brother Aed was Martin’s anamchara, his spiritual guide.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“Copying was not a simple act of reproduction. It was also a type of prayer, the way to a deeper understanding of scripture. Writing out lines was a meditation on meanings and hidden meanings. Illustrations appeared on the page in a dream state of grace.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“Grimur’s father taught him the uses of trees. He showed him which wood was good for boats, which for bows, which for burning and which for building. He showed him how to make and repair all the things necessary for a farm. Grimur liked repairing.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“He once told Grimur that the only purpose of a man was to fight, fuck and sail ships.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“You stupid boy. Grimur spoke gently. Why don’t you see? This is your fate. Woven into your story. Martin hung his head. He was so tired. You brought me back from the dead. “A miracle,” you called it. And you were right. I, Grimur No-Name, have been sent back from death to protect you while you finish this book. Even a pagan like me can see that. This task is given to you by your god.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“It says: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” I don’t understand. Well, it takes many years and much guidance to understand these words. Do you understand it? Well, I wouldn’t say I know it completely, but it’s something like “Everything is a story, a story told by God, and the story is God” . . . At least that’s how Brother Aed explained it to me. Everything is a story told by a god.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“Una wasn’t interested in God, or in worlds beyond this one, but she did like singing and she liked men not killing people. She felt it might make more sense for them to worship their creator by farming, or fishing, or gardening, but if they wanted to do it by living together and singing about matters beyond all understanding, then who was she to stop them.”
― David Greig, The Book of I

“What do you call a Viking without a boat? said Una. I don’t know. Dead. That’s not funny.”
― David Greig, The Book of I