The Kingdom of Back Quotes

“I am going to tell you a story you already know. But listen carefully, because within it is one you have never heard before.”
― Marie Lu, The Kingdom of Back

“He tells you to play, so you play. He tells you to curtsy, so you curtsy. He tells what you are meant to do and what you are meant not to do, so you do and you dono do. He tells you not to be angry, so you smile, you turn your eyes down, you are quiet and do exactly as he says in the hopes that this is what he wants, and then one night you realize that you have given him so much of yourself that you are nothing but the curtsy and the smile and the quiet. That you are nothing.”
― Marie Lu, The Kingdom of Back

“Speak for those less fortunate than yourself, who will need your help. Speak for the ones who will come after you, looking to you for guidance. Stay true, daughter. One day, you will see it all go up in flames.”
― Marie Lu, The Kingdom of Back

“Wishes have a habit of surprising their makers.”
― Marie Lu, The Kingdom of Back

“Even monsters must dream of fears and wants, and the sadness in his voice drew me closer.”
― Marie Lu, The Kingdom of Back

“Desire is your lifeblood, and talent is the flower it feeds.”
― Marie Lu, The Kingdom of Back

“All men are villains. He was afraid, I realized, and I wonder now if it was because he his proclamation made him a villain too.”
― Marie Lu, The Kingdom of Back

“The older we were, the less magnificent we seemed.”
― Marie Lu, The Kingdom of Back

“If nobody remembers you after you're gone, it's as if you never lived at all.”
― Marie Lu, The Kingdom of Back

“Sometimes, a day comes along that seems possessed by a certain shade of magic. You know those moments. There is a peculiar pattern to the silhouettes of leaves quivering against the sunbeam on the floor. The dust in the air glows white, charmed. Your voice is a note suspended in the breeze. The sounds outside your window seem very far away, songs of another world, and you imagine that this is the moment just before something unusual happens. Perhaps it is happening right now.

My day of magic arrived on a bright autumn morning, when the poplar trees swayed against a golden city.”
― Marie Lu, The Kingdom of Back

“Only the worthy are made immortal.”
― Marie Lu, The Kingdom of Back

“Music is music. The source of it does not matter so much.”
― Marie Lu, The Kingdom of Back

“He tells you to play, so you play. He tells you to curtsy, so you curtsy. He tells you what you are meant to do and what you are meant not to do, so you do and you do not do. He tells you not to be angry, so you smile, you turn your eyes down, you are quiet and do exactly as he says in the hopes that this is what he wants, and then one night you realize that you have given him so much of yourself that you are nothing but the curtsy and the smile and the quiet. That you are nothing.”
― Marie Lu, The Kingdom of Back

“You killed the princess in the tower."

"In some ways, she was already dead, wasn't she? Are you truly alive if you spend your entire life locked in a tower, hidden away for so long that you wouldn't even know to flee if the door opened for you?"

His words rang deep in my chest, as true and clear as the music of him that had first called to me all those years ago. His irises were gold, hypnotizing me. *Are you alive, Nannerl?* they seemed to say to me. *Don't you want to be?*”
― Marie Lu, The Kingdom of Back

“I am composing my own music. It is mine, from my hand alone. I wrote it for myself and I wanted to share it with you. Do you see me?”
― Marie Lu, The Kingdom of Back

“Keep going. Don't give in. Light up this world.”
― Marie Lu, The Kingdom of Back

“Music is the sound of God, Nannerl. If given the talent, it means God has chosen you as an ambassador for His voice. Your music will be as if God has given you eternal life.”
― Marie Lu, The Kingdom of Back

“He tells you to play, so you play. He tells you to curtsy, so you curtsy. He tells you what you are meant to do and what you are meant not to do, so you do and you do not. He tells you not to be angry, so you smile, you turn your eyes down, you are quiet and do exactly as he says in the hopes that this is what he wants, then one night you realise that you have given him so much of yourself that you are nothing but the curtsy and the smile and the quiet. That you are nothing.”
― Marie Lu, The Kingdom of Back

“Be wary of what you wish for.”
― Marie Lu, The Kingdom of Back

“All men are villains'. He was afraid, I realized, and I wonder now if it was because his proclamation made him a villain too.”
― Marie Lu, The Kingdom of Back

“Everyone is forgotten, mein Liebling,’ she said gently. ‘Except the kings and queens.’
And the talented, I added in silence, studying my brother’s dark curls. They were words my father had once said. Only the worthy are made immortal.”
― Marie Lu, The Kingdom of Back

“It is a long battle to fight,” she said, “but you must still fight it. Speak for those less fortunate than yourself, who will need your help. Speak for the ones who will come after you, looking to you for guidance. Stay true, daughter. One day, you will see it all go up in flames.”
― Marie Lu, The Kingdom of Back

“I signed them Mozart.” I leaned forward. “Just Mozart?” “Yes. For both of us. We are both Mozart, are we not?”
― Marie Lu, The Kingdom of Back

“Why have the trees changed?" I said, stammering.

"*You* have changed," Hyacinth replied. He leaned close to me to study my face. "Ah, so you've grown fond of this place. You feared it once, and now you ache for it to return. You always want what you cannot have, Fraulein.”
― Marie Lu, The Kingdom of Back

“All I've ever wanted was to be like you. I need you to know. I need you to know.”
― Marie Lu, The Kingdom of Back

“I had been eight years old then. I had turned eighteen in January my years of performing for an audience were over.”
― Marie Lu, The Kingdom of Back

“Wished have a habit of surprising their makers.”
― Marie Lu, The Kingdom of Back

“ìAll men are villains'. He was afraid, I realized, and I wonder now if it was because his proclamation made him a villain, too.”
― Marie Lu, The Kingdom of Back