I, The Divine Quotes

“I believe one has to escape oneself to discover oneself.”
― Rabih Alameddine, I, The Divine: A Novel in First Chapters

“I wonder whether there is such a thing as a sense of individuality. Is it all a facade, covering a deep need to belong? Are we simply pack animals desperately trying to pretend we are not?”
― Rabih Alameddine, I, The Divine: A Novel in First Chapters

“I opened myself to you only to be skinned alive. The more vulnerable I became, the faster and more deft your knife. Knowing what was happening, still I stayed and let you carve more. That's how much I loved you. That's how much.”
― Rabih Alameddine, I, The Divine: A Novel in First Chapters

“The eye always fills in the imperfections.”
― Rabih Alameddine, I, The Divine: A Novel in First Chapters

“How can I expect readers to know who I am if I do not tell them about my family, my friends, the relationships in my life? Who am I if not where I fit in the world, where I fit in the lives of the people dear to me?”
― Rabih Alameddine, I, The Divine: A Novel in First Chapters

“Passion was the antithesis of morality.”
― Rabih Alameddine, I, The Divine: A Novel in First Chapters

“By remaining constrained in one's environment or country or family, one has little chance of being other than the original prescription. By leaving, one gains a perspective, a distance of both space and time, which is essential for writing about family or home, in any case.”
― Rabih Alameddine, I, The Divine: A Novel in First Chapters

“What is the purpose of a city if not to grant the greatest of gifts, anonymity?”
― Rabih Alameddine, I, The Divine: A Novel in First Chapters

“In Beirut, death’s unremitting light shines bright for all to see, brighter than the Mediterranean sun, brighter than the night’s Russian missiles, brighter than a baby’s smile.”
― Rabih Alameddine, I, The Divine: A Novel in First Chapters

“Mirror mirror on the wall, I am my mother after all.”
― Rabih Alameddine, I, The Divine: A Novel in First Chapters

“I arrived in Dallas two days before the party and planned on leaving the day after. I hated the city as much as I thought I would. All anyone could talk about were the Cowboys and their chances in the playoffs. Charlene was happy. Joe was not, or so it seemed to me, in spite of the fact that he had finally gotten exactly what he thought he wanted from a wife: she gave him an adorable boy, she did everything in their home including laundry, and most important, she did not embarrass him. Whenever I was alone with Joe during the two days I was there, Charlene would send her son into the room with us. The first time I carried him, Charlene made sure to mention how surprised she was that I had motherly instincts. She probably used the pronoun we more in one day than I have in my whole life. I did not blame her. Most plain women stake their claims clumsily.”
― Rabih Alameddine, I, the Divine: A Novel in First Chapters

“How can she tell the difference between freedom and unburdening?”
― Rabih Alameddine, I, The Divine: A Novel in First Chapters

“Home is never where she is, but where she is not.”
― Rabih Alameddine, I, The Divine: A Novel in First Chapters

“The men go out to greet the arrivals. A hundred men come out of the cars, some with machine guns. Shots are fired in the air. They scream, they shout, they hail the hero. The groom will be getting some tonight. The men have come to collect their prize. More men shouting, some come into the house. She stands. The strange man, the groom she has met only twice, smiles at her. She walks out with him.”
― Rabih Alameddine, I, the Divine: A Novel in First Chapters

“A girl is supposed to be ecstatic on her wedding day. According to tradition, getting married is what we live for. Hope your wedding day is soon, they say. To young girls even, barely ten years old. May we all celebrate your wedding day. What did it feel like for her, though? She waits at her father’s house, all dressed up in white. The men in her family all proud, happy, one less mouth to feed, one less honor to defend.”
― Rabih Alameddine, I, the Divine: A Novel in First Chapters

“In reality, the only true model of a successful woman was the Divine Sarah.”
― Rabih Alameddine, I, The Divine: A Novel in First Chapters

“There are a few places on the East Coast, and maybe Los Angeles, where women understand evening gowns. The rest of the country still has far to go.”
― Rabih Alameddine, I, The Divine: A Novel in First Chapters

“I realised when it came to men, I did not pick the beautiful or the correct. I picked the wrong one.”
― Rabih Alameddine, I, The Divine: A Novel in First Chapters