The Riverman Quotes

“If you name things, then you treat them better.”
― Aaron Starmer, The Riverman

“The more time you spend with someone, the more you realize they’re not perfect. Everyone comes from a different place with different problems.”
― Aaron Starmer, The Riverman

“He’s not a bad guy, deep down,” I said.
My dad slipped the key into the door. “Deep down, no one is. But you make choices.”
― Aaron Starmer, The Riverman

“In books, even the very best boy detectives are dismissed with a laugh. In real life, they're sent to psychologists.”
― Aaron Starmer, The Riverman

“People see what they want to see.”
― aaron starmer, The Riverman

“We were weirdos, Fiona and I. Creative minds like ours were the minds of aliens. And the soul-suckers, the plagiarists, the malicious people like Charlie? They were sapping us. It was our mission to get away from them.”
― Aaron Starmer, The Riverman

“Do you want to be saved?” I asked.
Keri cocked an eyebrow. “Like Jesus?”
“Like Lancelot.”
“I hang my hair out the window every night, waiting for some dude to climb up.”
― Aaron Starmer, The Riverman

“Riverman, Riverman, blood to ice.”
― Aaron Starmer, The Riverman

“War will change people.”
― Aaron Starmer, The Riverman

“Kilgore here will keep the record straight.”
“Kilgore?”
“The tape recorder. I name things. If you name things, then you treat them better.” Fiona motioned with her chin to a poster tacked to the opposite wall. “Does she have a name?”
“She” was a bikini-clad model spraying a Lamborghini with a garden hose and, no, she didn’t—at least, not one I knew. I lowered my eyes.
“We’ll call her Prudence, then,” Fiona said. “Now whenever you wake up, you can say, ‘Good morning, Prudence, how’s tricks? Still in the car washing game, I see.’”
“‘How’s tricks’?”
“‘How’s things,’” Fiona explained. “Slang from the good ol’ days. I learned it from a kid in a newsie cap.”
“A newsie cap?”
“We’re getting ahead of ourselves.”
― Aaron Starmer, The Riverman

“I suppose everyone is a daydreamer, but I was better at it than most.”
― Aaron Starmer, The Riverman

“Maybe someday you'll realize that goodbye can often be the best thing. Even when you're crazy about the person.”
― Aaron Starmer, The Riverman

“Mrs. Delson had called it "promising", which I took to mean it was promising. But you eventually realise something if you're inundated with empty compliments like that- You've got loads of potential, Alistair! You've got the makings of someone great, Alistair! It's all part of a comforting but dishonest language that's used to encourage, but not to praise.”
― Aaron Starmer, The Riverman

“Fiona only spoke when called upon and always sighed her way through answers as if school were the ultimate inconvenience. She was unknowable in the way that all girls are unknowable, but also in her own way.”
― Aaron Starmer, The Riverman

“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, all that stuff. Death takes everyone. Most of us too early, a few of us not early enough.”
― Aaron Starmer, The Riverman

“Her bone-white face lit up like she was at a surprise party. “Hear that, Dwyer? He called me ma’am! Stay forever if you want, big guy. Teach my son a thing or two about manners.”
“He’s good people,” Kyle said. “Always has been.”
It was the last thing I wanted to hear at that moment. “I’m not always good,” I shot back.
“Ooooo, polite and a bad boy,” Gina cooed. “Watch out, ladies.”
― Aaron Starmer, The Riverman