Quotes from Alexander McCall Smith

And the same goes for other things," went on Mma Makutsi. "Hooks are the answer." Mma Ramotswe had a momentary vision of Mma Makutsi's house covered in hooks. Even her baby, Itumelang, would be suspended in a basket from a hook; and Phuti would have a hook too, a large, solid one, from which he would dangle by his collar, awaiting instructions from his wife.

the truth sometimes seemed too thin to satisfy our yearnings.

you did not look for a winner who would take everything; you found a way of allowing people to save face; you found a way of healing rather than imposing.

You might disagree with others for what they said or for what they did—that was one thing—but to take against them simply for what they were was to blame them for something over which they had no control, and was cruel, and profoundly wrong.

The human heart, you see, Mma Ramotswe, is pretty much the same wherever one goes.

Undisclosed failings, she thought; that great weight we all carry around with us, some of us for all our lives, unable to speak about them, unable -- involuntary Atlases all -- to share the burden.

What a sad reflection that was on the way we ordered our affairs, that anybody should feel that they were just something. Everybody was significant; everybody was as valuable as everybody else. If we stopped thinking that, then any attempt at morality would be built on sand.

You know how they leave their things lying around on the floor." Mma Ramotswe, in spite of her commitment to fairness, had to agree. Men were very untidy, for the most part. They could not help it, she knew, and one could not blame them for it, as neither could they help being men. It was just the way things were.

When you don't talk about something, then something will talk about itself for you.

We should love one another, she thought, not only because it was the right thing to do, but also because it was far easier than hating one another. People who hated often had to work quite hard at keeping their hatred warm.

She had brought all of this on herself, and so she had, in a sense, got what she deserved. But, even so, she had a soul like everyone else, and one should not crow over the defeat even of those who richly deserve to be defeated. That was dangerous, because then you yourself might get what you deserve for reveling in the misfortunes of another.

The glow left by the sun is like a good act done, she thought; or like love, which left the same warm signature behind it.

Never be put off by rudeness, Mma," she whispered. "It is the rude person who is rude, not you.

the names we gave to others, and the things we accused them of, often said more about us than they did about them.

Another Huber, you see, Herr Uber-Huber. Bavaria's teeming with people of your name.' 'Hubers, yes,' said Herr Uber-Huber. 'But not so many Uber-Hubers, I think.' 'An important distinction, that,' said the Rector. 'Tell me, Herr Uber-Huber–are there any Unter-Hubers, as far as you know?' Herr Uber-Huber shook his head. 'I would say that Huber is the equivalent of Unter-Huber.

I'll watch the temperature," said Ulf. "Shall we meet for dinner, then?" He felt that he had to say that. He knew that dinner with Blomquist would involve his sitting there listening to the other man going on about something or other, but he had to be friendly. And, for all his irritation with his colleague, Ulf's fundamental kindness won out, as it invariably did, and he would not want Blomquist to pick up on his irritation.

If you were a Catholic," said Mr. Woodhouse, "you would have no difficulty with the idea of sitting around and doing nothing. That has never been a problem for Catholicism; it is only the Protestant outlook that makes us feel guilty about not being busy.

The turtles and birds who lived on the islands were also very friendly, as they hardly ever saw any humans and were always pleased to have some company.

Not as far as I know," said Ulf. "I asked Blomquist, who said that he thought a dwarf didn't have normal bodily proportions. Midgets—I mean, small people—do. They have small bodies, but otherwise they look normal." Anna frowned. "I'm not sure that you can say normal, you know. Perhaps say average. Nobody gets offended if you say that they're not average.

She decided to change the subject. Hooks were useful, but there was a limit to what one could say about them.

And he readily admitted that he knew nothing about women's clothing, as most men would have to admit; and yet women always claimed to know what clothes were right for a man. There was some injustice here, thought Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, although he was not quite sure how one might pursue the point.

And would you like to do that, Bertie?" asked the psychotherapist. Bertie nodded. Dr. St. Clair scribbled a note on his pad. Fantasies of escape, he wrote. But why Iceland? 50. A Fiscally Responsible Boy For some reason unknown

Have you ever watched a group of boys together? Look at them. They punch one another. They push. There's a lot of aggression, even if it looks like friendly aggression. It's really odd, but it explains a lot about how males are. And about the world, I suppose. About wars and ecological irresponsibility and bad behaviour generally.

How do you calibrate pain?" asked Jamie. "By cutting out the background pain of the world," answered Isabel. "By cutting all that out, not registering it, and responding only to those painful things that we can do something about. Because otherwise Ã¢â'¬Â¦