Belzhar Quotes

“We're talking about the novel, right? But maybe we're not. We're talking about ourselves. And I guess that's what can start to happen when you talk about a book.”
― Meg Wolitzer, Belzhar

“Everyone,” she continues, looking around at all of us, “has something to say. But not everyone can bear to say it. Your job is to find a way.”
― Meg Wolitzer, Belzhar

“And I also know that pain can seem like an endless ribbon. You pull it and you pull it. You keep gathering it toward you, and as it collects, you really can’t believe that there’s something else at the end of it. Something that isn’t just more pain. But there’s always something else at the end; something at least a little different. You never know what that thing will be, but it’s there.”
― Meg Wolitzer, Belzhar

“Books light the fire—whether it’s a book that’s already written, or an empty journal that needs to be filled in.”
― Meg Wolitzer, Belzhar

“The mind plays tricks on itself in order to stay in one piece.”
― Meg Wolitzer, Belzhar

“It's funny how you can go for a long time in life not needing someone, and then you meet them and you suddenly need them all the time”
― Meg Wolitzer, Belzhar

“... if you hold on, if you force yourself as hard as you can to find some kind of patience in the middle of all your impatience, things can change.”
― Meg Wolitzer, Belzhar

“Sometimes it's easier to tell ourselves a story.”
― Meg Wolitzer, Belzhar

“the rest of life—that imperfect thing—waiting.”
― Meg Wolitzer, Belzhar

“He was like a long beaker in chemistry class, and the top was always bubbling over because some interesting process was taking place inside”
― Meg Wolitzer, Belzhar

“I might have things to look forward to again, things I can’t even imagine yet.”
― Meg Wolitzer, Belzhar

“to find out what another human being feels, a person who isn't you; to get a look under the hood, so to speak. A deep look inside. That's what writing is supposed to do.”
― Meg Wolitzer, Belzhar

“Words matter. All semester, we were looking for the words to say what we needed to say. We were all looking for our voice.”
― Meg Wolitzer, Belzhar

“I guess I feel like grief is this huge part of everything,” I say in a burst. “But you’re supposed to act like it’s not.”
― Meg Wolitzer, Belzhar

“- O voce. Asta e tot ce primim.
Nimeni habar n-are ce vrea să spună, dar ea pare perfect mulţumită să ne lase în continuare nedumeriţi şi aşteaptă.
- Ăă, poftim? spune Marc.
- Fiecare avem o singură voce, spune doamna Quenell, iar lumea e incredibil de zgomotoasă. Uneori cred că cei tăcuţi...
Face semn din cap spre băiatul grosolan.
- ...şi-au dat seama că cea mai bună modalitate de-a atrage atenţia celorlalţi e să nu strigi, ci să şopteşti. Ceea ce îi face pe toţi să asculte puţin mai atent.”
― Meg Wolitzer, Belzhar

“But it’s never just been the journals that have made the difference, I don’t think. It’s also the way the students are with one another . . . the way they talk about books and authors and themselves. Not just their problems, but their passions too. The way they form a little society and discuss whatever matters to them. Books light the fire—whether it’s a book that’s already written, or an empty journal that needs to be filled in.”
― Meg Wolitzer, Belzhar

“So many people don’t even know what hits them when they grow up. They feel clobbered over the head the minute the first thing goes wrong, and they spend the rest of their lives trying to avoid pain at all costs. But you all know that avoiding pain is impossible. And I think having that knowledge, plus the experiences you’ve lived through, make you definitely not fragile. They make you brave.”
― Meg Wolitzer, Belzhar

“Our relationship was like one of those YouTube videos of a flower frowning in speeded-up motion. All of the sudden we were in love.”
― Meg Wolitzer, Belzhar

“Even when I can’t relate on a personal level, she makes me know what she feels, and that’s really something. To find out what another human being feels, a person who isn’t you; to get a look under the hood, so to speak. A deep look inside. That’s what writing is supposed to do.”
― Meg Wolitzer, Belzhar

“Toată lumea, continuă ea, privind în jur spre noi, are ceva de spus. Dar nu toată lumea poate suporta să o spună. Treaba voastră e să găsiţi o modalitate.”
― Meg Wolitzer, Belzhar

“Belzhar este singurul mod în care fiecare dintre noi poate avea ceea ce îşi doreşte. Singurul mod în care putem obţine din nou lucrul pe care l-am pierdut.”
― Meg Wolitzer, Belzhar

“How are any of us in this room supposed to care about anything, when we’re constantly being pulled back by unbearable thoughts and feelings?”
― Meg Wolitzer, Belzhar

“I open the journal now and pick up the pen, but I can’t bring myself to write a word.”
― Meg Wolitzer, Belzhar

“The voice. It doesn’t just matter what you say. It matters who does the saying. It matters whose voice it is.”
― Meg Wolitzer, Belzhar

“I hadn’t known that if you hold on, if you force yourself as hard as you can to find some kind of patience in the middle of all your impatience, things can change. It’s big, and it’s always incredibly messy. But there’s no way around the mess.”
― Meg Wolitzer, Belzhar

“And I also know that pain can seem like an endless ribbon. You pull it and you pull it. You keep gathering it towards you, and as it collects, you really can’t believe that there’s something else at the end of it. Something that isn’t just pain.”
― Meg Wolitzer, Belzhar

“Books light the fire - whether it’s a book that’s already written, or an empty journal that needs to be filled in.”
― Meg Wolitzer, Belzhar

“There are some places a person can go where no one else can follow them. And sometimes you just have to trust that they know what they’re doing.”
― Meg Wolitzer, Belzhar

“Boys can’t seem to help but leave marks; they scatter them as carelessly as pebbles in a pond.”
― Meg Wolitzer, Belzhar

“I think how easy it would be to go through life as a goat. You don’t have any problems. You don’t fall in love, so you don’t get crushed by loss. You just have your simple, farm-animal life, which I envy now.”
― Meg Wolitzer, Belzhar