The Book of Dreams Quotes

“Maybe our lives are nothing but stories that are being read by other people.”
― Nina George, The Book of Dreams

“Coincidences are surprising events whose meaning only becomes apparent in retrospect. They're a chance to change your life, and you can either seize that opportunity or spurn it.”
― Nina George, The Book of Dreams

“It is always said that we may take no earthly treasures with us when we die. No money or possessions, none of our beauty or power. That is correct. Some who have switched worlds have been intensely bewildered at first that they were unable to carry anything tangible with them. But there's a second truth. We can take anything with us that we could not hoard during our lifetimes because it could only be felt, sometimes for a few brief heartbeats, sometimes only in secret. We can take joy with us, and love. Every beautiful moment from our lives. All the light we have peacefully admired, all the lovely scents and laughter and friendship we have collected. Every kiss, every caress, and every song. The wind on our faces; tango; music; the rustle of autumn grass, stiff with frozen dew; the twinkle of the stars; contentment; courage; and generosity. All those things we many take with us. All that is in between.”
― Nina George, The Book of Dreams

“That's the magic of literature. We read a story, and something happens. We don't know what or why, nor which sentence it was responsible, but the world has changed and will never be the same again. Sometimes it takes us several years to realize that a book tore a hole in reality through which we could escape from the pettiness and despondency of our surroundings.”
― Nina George, The Book of Dreams

“Forget about the height of the staircase... concentrate instead on the first step, taking it step by step from there. That's how you confront a challenge that seems overwhelming at first... Shrink the world, be precise; pay no heed to the long night before you but only to the next moment. You must follow the path to the very end to get an overview of the whole journey.”
― Nina George, The Book of Dreams

“You're not dying," I helplessly reply. "Come on!! We'll find the way."
Now she smiles, and even her smile is lonely and sad. "What do you love?" she asks.
[I was never very good at loving, but now I love life so dearly. How I miss it!]
"The dead don't know whether they're living among the living or among the dead, and ultimately there's no difference. Being dead is like dreaming without realizing you're dreaming." she whispers.”
― Nina George, The Book of Dreams

“In Persia we call the meeting of two opposites bar-khord. Bar-khord happens when two strong elements touch and something new forms at their point of intersection. It is not a clash of opposites, more like an intermingling. This in-between state is in constant flux. It doesn’t set opposites against each other; it is the source of a third element, something completely new that draws on the opposites and bears no major similarities to either one or the other.”
― Nina George, Das Traumbuch

“Write about the world to understand it. Write about people to make them visible. Write down my thoughts to stop myself from going mad.”
― Nina George, The Book of Dreams

“How quickly life can end, and how mysterious are the paths leading to death and life. An accumulation of tiny decisions. A few small gestures and life will take a very different course from the one it would have taken an hour or a day ago.”
― Nina George, The Book of Dreams

“than usual with the boy snuggling against my back. He’s precious cargo, the son of the man who was my sun and my moon. Who was with me as I breathed and slept, a fount of desire and tenderness. My greatest failure. My greatest love.”
― Nina George, The Book of Dreams

“Covers are like faces: none ever pleases everybody, and they don’t always convey the full complexity of what’s behind them.”
― Nina George, The Book of Dreams

“That’s the magic of literature. We read a story, and something happens. We don’t know what or why, nor which sentence was responsible, but the world has changed and will never be the same again. Sometimes it takes us several years to realize that a book tore a hole in reality through which we could escape from the pettiness and despondency of our surroundings”
― Nina George, The Book of Dreams

“We can take joy with us, and love. Every beautiful moment from our lives. All the light we have peacefully admired, all the lovely scents and laughter and friendship we have collected. Every kiss, every caress, and every song. The wind on our faces; tango; music; the rustle of autumn grass, stiff with frozen dew; the twinkle of the stars; contentment; courage; and generosity. All those things we may take with us. All that is in between.”
― Nina George, The Book of Dreams

“Your sleeplessness, Mr. Skinner, is a sign of profound trauma. Your brain is full. You get lost because there’s no room left in your head for yourself.”
― Nina George, The Book of Dreams

“The patient may well be conscious but have no control of his motor system. Perhaps you’re simply causing him pain while he is incapable of defending himself. As his representative, I forbid you to torture him. Is there no other way?”
― Nina George, The Book of Dreams

“I realize at that moment that you can always decide: nothing simply happens. It’s always possible to decide whether to lie or tell the truth, whether to be an asshole or not to be an asshole.”
― Nina George, The Book of Dreams

“Novels are born here, Sam, and some people even say that stories lurk in the shadows of the parks and houses and streets until someone walks past whom they trust to tell them properly. Then they attach themselves to that person and don’t let them go until the person has written them down.”
― Nina George, The Book of Dreams

“What wouldn’t I give not to have hesitated when I ought to have jumped, not to have run away when I ought to have stayed, not to have remained silent when I ought to have spoken out!”
― Nina George, The Book of Dreams

“Jos rakkaudesta haluaisi kirjoittaa totuudenmukaisesti, olisi kirjoitettava joka vuosi uusi romaani, jonka pääosassa on sama pariskunta, ja kerrottava sillä keinoin, miten rakkaus muuttuu, miten elämä tulee heidän väliinsä ja mitä värejä kiintymys saa kun päivistä tulee pimeämpiä.”
― Nina George, The Book of Dreams

“blind spots of the soul? It’s when you’re unaware of some of your own characteristics, either unconsciously or deliberately. They might be weaknesses you refuse to accept or strengths you find unpleasant or creepy. Your father couldn’t see that he was wrong about himself.”
― Nina George, The Book of Dreams

“I don’t know my father and I don’t know Eddie either, but it sounds as if they are two nuances of the same word.”
― Nina George, The Book of Dreams

“You have to know who you are or else you’ll go missing in action. Do you know who you are? Do you have a mantra? What’s your headline, Henri? What reminds you of who you are?”
― Nina George, The Book of Dreams

“I didn’t realize how lonely a person can be until I met Henri. Having no one who knew you before you knew yourself, no one to love you just for being you.”
― Nina George, The Book of Dreams

“That’s the magic of literature. We read a story, and something happens. We don’t know what or why, nor which sentence was responsible, but the world has changed and will never be the same again.”
― Nina George, The Book of Dreams

“Coincidences, my father used to say, are surprising events whose meaning only becomes apparent in retrospect. They’re a chance to change your life, and you can either seize that opportunity or spurn it.”
― Nina George, The Book of Dreams

“the Eternal Reader, a monk”
― Nina George, The Book of Dreams

“Maybe we’re all stories that someone is reading, and maybe that will save us before we ultimately expire?”
― Nina George, The Book of Dreams

“Don’t search for words to capture your pain and your consolation. Seek out a place and sing it.”
― Nina George, The Book of Dreams

“Jack says when you love something, you must practice and when you're good at something, you must practice even harder. What else are our long lives for?”
― Nina George, The Book of Dreams

“That's the magic of literature. We read a story, and something happens. We don't know what or why, nor which sentence was responsible, but the world has changed and will never be the same again. Sometimes it take us several years to realize that a book tore a hole in reality through which we could escape from the pettiness and despondency of our surroundings”
― Nina George, The Book of Dreams