The Book in the Wall Quotes

“The announcer then turned his attention to the women, and described how Islamic women were the keepers of the faith and the teachers of children. Then he described how these women had betrayed Islam, their children, and their families. The announcer gave the signal, and each woman was shot in the back of the head. To Jim, it was always a particularly sickening sight to see the way a young woman’s small body would violently plunge forward, slamming her face into the pavement.”
― John F. Simpson, The Book in the Wall

“I’ll walk around, Jim thought, but I won’t have a good time. Whatever was in the Coke was helping his headache and the knot in his stomach, the ringing in his ears was also gone. He walked around for a while watching everyone; then he saw the Ayatollah, he was sitting with three other religious men who he recognized as local imams. He found a spot where he could watch them and leaned against the wall. After a few minutes one of the black women approached the Ayatollah’s table and asked if they wanted anything. For some reason they found the question funny because they all laughed. Then, as the woman started to walk away, the Ayatollah put his arm around her and pulled her into his lap. They all laughed again when she put her arm around his neck and pushed her large breasts into his face. The Ayatollah was clearly enjoying the attention the woman was paying him.”
― John F. Simpson, The Book in the Wall

“The event that galvanized the rebel movement was the Islamic govern-ment’s law outlawing images, and its subsequent decision to destroy the Statue of Liberty because it was an image that they considered an idol. The original objective of the rebel movement was to liberate the United States and Canada. After years of fighting, their objective changed to the establishment of religious freedom. They have been fighting now for more than twenty years.”
― John F. Simpson, The Book in the Wall

“Jim spent the next day at the office exhausted, and tormented by the vision of the man being executed. Every execution caused him to become depressed for a short period of time; however, this time it was different and he didn’t know why. His stomach contracted into a severe knot when he heard the static and hum of the public address system when it came on. Not again today, he thought. I’m not ready for another execution. He collapsed on his desk, rested his head on his arms, and waited for another dreaded Ministry of Profiling announce-ment.”
― John F. Simpson, The Book in the Wall

“The economy of France nearly collapsed when the new Islamic government prohibited the production of wine or any other alcoholic drink. This caused a small and short-lived rebellion in French rural areas.”
― John F. Simpson, The Book in the Wall

“During the first day that Jim spent working with the research editors, he discovered the existence of a library that only the manager and the research editors could access. Jim had never seen or been in a library in his entire life. He stood in the library and was astounded by the sight, smell, and presence of so many books. He was overcome with emotions because he was standing and looking at something that he had only heard of, something that he thought, up until now, only existed in the past. He got the feeling that he was standing inside history.”
― John F. Simpson, The Book in the Wall

“It’s been a week now since Jim found John McCoy’s diary in the wall. He hasn’t tried to dispose of the book because he’s certain that he’ll be assigned to a better apartment when he’s promoted. However, that hasn’t made him any more comfortable about living in his present apartment, knowing that the book is there. Sometimes, late at night, he’s sure that he can hear noises coming from that section of the wall. Then he worries that the wires may cause another fire, and that the firemen will find the book with his fingerprints on it.”
― John F. Simpson, The Book in the Wall

“I was isolated from other editors and given the job of editing the Qur’an. It took me too long to figure out the reason for the changes - not that I could have done anything about them, but the changes gave the government, and the Islamic leaders, absolute control over every aspect of our daily lives. Every law they could think up was suddenly a law from Allah, and you dared not disobey Allah.”
― John F. Simpson, The Book in the Wall