The Librarian of Saint-Malo Quotes

“Every time someone opens a book, it comes alive once more. Its characters wake up from their nap and start acting all over again.”
― Mario Escobar, The Librarian of Saint-Malo: A WWII Novel

“The power of words does not lie in the stories we tell, but in our ability to connect to the hearts of those who read them.”
― Mario Escobar, The Librarian of Saint-Malo

“my hope is that someday, when humanity regains its sanity, people will know that the only way to be saved from barbarianism is by love: loving books, loving people, and, though you may call me crazy, loving our enemies. There’s no doubt that love is the most revolutionary choice and, therefore, the most persecuted and reviled. Augustine of Hippo’s thrilling phrase still reverberates in my ears: “Love, and do what you will.”
― Mario Escobar, The Librarian of Saint-Malo: A WWII Novel

“the wrath of men works not the justice of God.”
― Mario Escobar, The Librarian of Saint-Malo: A WWII Novel

“Literature is a weapon against evil.”
― Mario Escobar, The Librarian of Saint-Malo La bibliotecaria de Saint-Malo

“home so we could sit by the window and read. Books lightened the pain in my soul and stood guard before the advancing embrace of death.”
― Mario Escobar, The Librarian of Saint-Malo: A WWII Novel

“bouquinistes”
― Mario Escobar, The Librarian of Saint-Malo: A WWII Novel

“Whenever an author releases a new book to the world, he risks being loved and hated—though no one thinks at the core that it’s a true act of generosity. Authors expose their souls in every line they write; but in this case, you would be the one exposed. Many people would judge you and would not understand the choices you make. Who can enter someone else’s heart and understand the reasons behind their actions?”
― Mario Escobar, The Librarian of Saint-Malo: A WWII Novel

“You fail to understand women, Lt. Bauman. We are not moved by ideals—that is a banal game ever played by men. We’re driven by something much deeper that really makes the world turn: affections. This is something you’ll never understand. We endure pain better than men can, we sacrifice ourselves for the ones we love, we give our lives for our children—but none of that is driven by our ideals. We are driven by love.”
― Mario Escobar, The Librarian of Saint-Malo: A WWII Novel

“At the core, being a writer means feeling things at a deeper level than everyone else and knowing how to communicate those depths, helping readers to see reality in a way they never have before.”
― Mario Escobar, The Librarian of Saint-Malo: A WWII Novel

“That’s one of the problems of knowing we are immortal; sometimes we confuse the impossible annihilation of the soul with this finite, mortal body.”
― Mario Escobar, The Librarian of Saint-Malo: A WWII Novel

“Old age is not the passing of years but the destruction of all we hold dear.”
― Mario Escobar, The Librarian of Saint-Malo: A WWII Novel

“Hopes are just wishes we cast into the wind. And the only thing that can bring them back to us are the inscrutable whims of fate.”
― Mario Escobar, The Librarian of Saint-Malo

“Youth is much more persuasive than maturity, reminding us of what we have forgotten, that the present is the only thing that actually exists.”
― Mario Escobar, The Librarian of Saint-Malo

“Sometimes everything has to come crashing down for us to understand what we have built our lives upon.”
― Mario Escobar, The Librarian of Saint-Malo