Earthly Remains Quotes

“He hesitated then, anticipating the panic that came when there was nothing left to read”
― Donna Leon, Earthly Remains

“Only the good deserve to hope.”
― Donna Leon, Earthly Remains

“I read books, not minds, Guido.”
― Donna Leon, Earthly Remains

“We work in a profession that has consequences for the heart,”
― Donna Leon, Earthly Remains

“He hesitated then, anticipating the panic that came when there was nothing left to read.
- Guido Brunetti”
― Donna Leon, Earthly Remains

“A sudden motion pushed them away from the wall, and then he thought he heard Casati’s oar slide into the water, and they were off. All he heard after that was the soft rubbing of the oar in the curve of the fórcola, the hiss of water along the sides of the boat, and the occasional squeak of one of Casati’s shoes as his weight shifted forwards or backwards. Brunetti gave himself to motion, glad of the passing breeze that tempered the savagery of the heat. He hadn’t thought to bring a hat, and he had scoffed at Paola’s insistence that he bring sunscreen. Real men? Brunetti had rowed since he was a boy, but he knew he had little to contribute to the smoothness of this passage. There was not the slightest suggestion of stop and go, of a point where the thrust of the oar changed force: it was a single forward motion, like a bird soaring on rising draughts of air, or a pair of skis descending a slope. It was a whish or a shuuh, as hard to describe as to hear, even in the midst of the silence of the laguna. Brunetti turned his head to one side, then to the other, but there was only the soft, low hiss. He wanted to turn and look at Casati, as though by watching him row, he might store the motions away and copy them later, but he didn’t want to shift his weight and thus change the balance of the boat, however minimally.”
― Donna Leon, Earthly Remains

“his own world lived in constant discovery of its own ignorance.”
― Donna Leon, Earthly Remains

“Another bridge, then open water on one side. On the other was the Basilica and the Palazzo, and Brunetti had the sudden realization that, though none of this belonged to him, he belonged to all of it.”
― Donna Leon, Earthly Remains

“Brunetti had recently read a book that said a goshawk could see the veins in the wings of a butterfly: who knew what could be seen? Or felt. Possibility was limitless, each of us a separate universe of choice and capacity.”
― Donna Leon, Earthly Remains

“their protests, and plunged ahead.”
― Donna Leon, Earthly Remains

“Nor has the extent of your prosperity produced any change in you, except that it has given you the power of doing good to the utmost of your wishes. And whilst all these circumstances increase the veneration which other persons feel for you, with respect to myself, they have made me so bold, as to wish to become more familiar.”
― Donna Leon, Earthly Remains

“When you’re in pain, you need to think of something so that at least part of you can be free of the pain, so that your mind can go somewhere where there’s no pain.”
― Donna Leon, Earthly Remains

“I’m glad I‘m sitting down, Guido. You make my knees go all wobbly.”
― Donna Leon, Earthly Remains

“People don’t change,’ she answered, voicing the wisdom Neapolitans had learned over centuries. ‘If they suffer enough, they do,’ Brunetti said, then quickly amended it to ‘or can.’ Brunetti’s”
― Donna Leon, Earthly Remains

“They walked slowly, taking the shortest way, deliberately cutting through Campo delle Fava to avoid the crowds in Calle della Bissa. When they arrived at the foot of the Rialto bridge, they looked up at it, horrified. Anthill, termites, wasps. Ignoring these thoughts, they locked arms and started up, eyes on their feet and the area immediately in front of them. Up, up, up as feet descended towards them, but they ignored them and didn't stop. Up, up, up and across the top, shoving their way through the motionless people, deaf to their admiration. Then down, down, down, the momentum of their descent making them more formidable, They saw the feet of the people coming up towards them dance to the side at their approach, hardened their hearts to their protests, and plunged ahead. Then left and into the underpass, where they stopped, Brunetti's pulse raced and Paola leaned helpless on his arm.

"I can't stand it any more," Paola said and pressed her forehead against his shoulder.”
― Donna Leon, Earthly Remains

“I remember that’s the way he was before we came out here. But then it was as if we’d come to a magic country where people changed into the person you wanted them to be, and all of a sudden my father became quiet and patient and had time to read to me.”
― Donna Leon, Earthly Remains

“Brunetti remembered when they found themselves with an excessive catch, they chose to give it away, rather than watch it rot.”
― Donna Leon, Earthly Remains