Barbara Kingsolver, The Poisonwood Bible Quotes
No other continent has endured such an unspeakably bizarre combination of foreign thievery and foreign goodwill.
A choir of seedlings arching their necks out of rotted tree stumps, sucking life out of death. I am the forest's conscience, but remember, the forest eats itself and lives forever.
Like kids who only ever get socks for Christmas, but still believe with all their hearts in Santa.
Misunderstanding is my cornerstone. It's everyone's, come to think of it. Illusions mistaken for truth are the pavement under our feet.
I’ve seen how you can’t learn anything when you’re trying to look like the smartest person in the room.
Listen. Slide the weight from your shoulders and move forward. You are afraid you might forget, but you never will. You will forgive and remember.
Sugar, it's no parade but you'll get down the street one way or another, so you'd just as well throw your shoulders back and pick up the pace.
Illusions mistaken for truth are the pavement under our feet. They are what we call civilization.
You see mother, you had no life of your own. They have no idea. One has only a life of one's own.
Forgive me, O Heavenly Father, according to the multitude of Thy mercies. I have lusted in my heart to break a man's skull and scatter the stench of his brains across several people's back yards.
You can curse the dead or pray for them, but don't expect them to do a thing for you. They're far too interested in watching us, to see what in heaven's name we will do next.
There is a strange moment in time, after something horrible happens, when you know it's true, but you haven't told anyone yet.
I attempted briefly to consecrate myself in the public library, believing every crack in my soul could be chinked with a book.
If the Lord hasn't got a boyfriend lined up for me to marry, that's his business.
God doesn’t need to punish us. He just grants us a long enough life to punish ourselves.
Every life is different because you passed this way and touched history.
Mother, you can still hold hold on but forgive, forgive and give for long as long as we both shall live, I forgive you, Mother.
The substance of grief is not imaginary. It's as real as rope or the absence of air, and like both those things it can kill.
To live is to be marked. To live is to change, to acquire the words of a story, and that is the only celebration we mortals really know.
That is surely childhood's end, when you look at a thing like a rabbit needing skinned and have to say: "Nobody else is going to do this.
Because I could not stop for death he kindly stopped for me, or paused at least to strike a glancing blow with his sky-blue mouth as he passed.
Like many human beings, he took the least sign of conversation as his cue to make noise.
Listen: being dead is not worse than being alive. It is different though. You could say the view is larger.
To live is to change, to acquire the words of a story, and that is the only celebration we mortals really know.
Don’t try to make life a mathematics problem with yourself in the center and everything coming out equal. When you’re good, bad things can still happen. And if you’re bad, you can still be lucky.
Love changes everything. I never suspected it would be so. Requited love, I should say ...