Quotes from Alice Elliott Dark

Polly was always shocked to learn how complacent she was, when she was certain of her good intentions.

everyone had specialties when it came to others.

Anywhere But Here,

Polly, who made a point of finding the good in everyone, didn't like Seela either. She practiced a set of showy good manners that were actually bad manners, such as explaining why she couldn't accept an invitation or complimenting someone's dress.

Atoms split in the big bang wandering the universe seeking forever their other half to repair the split.

She folded her clothes carefully, for the benefit of Dr. Oswald. If she were neat, he'd let her live. Then she looked at the pictures on the walls. Thank God he didn't have diagrams of innards or ads for drugs. Instead, Maine landscapes. "I love Maine," Agnes said aloud. "I love Fellowship Point. May it live forever." There was no one to overhear her, but she was pretty sure she'd reached the stage where no one would hear her even if they heard her.

She read Housekeeping, which Heidi loved because the odd people were the good people; The Handmaid's Tale, which she understood was terrifying even if the details were fuzzy; Giovanni's Room, which made her sigh, because people were so stubborn; The Professor's House, which she loved for the spooky dress form and Tom's trip to the old Southwest; and Anywhere But Here, which was Maud's favorite, because it starred a girl.

The others adapted, for nothing quelled a revolution more quickly—wrote Pauline Schulz—than the prevailing powers inviting it in for drinks.

She was arriving with an agenda—drop the suit against Robert, first, and agree to dissolve the association for the purpose of donating the lands to a trust—but coached herself that it would be wise to consider his concerns before she asked for anything. Archie wore a gilded cape of male vanity and would need it admired.

Archie materialized, a vision of how aging men delude themselves into believing they have achieved peak allure.

We were, are, relentlessly, pridefully, stoical. We admire fortitude. We were raised to think a person has a right to be upset, in the event of loss or disappointment, but there are ways to acknowledge it without plodding through the embarrassment of a scene. Stop crying. Pull yourself together. Be brave.

Seela had told her on another visit that her decorator claimed beige was the classiest color, a phrasing that repudiated the statement.

She rarely cried at life, but certain turns of phrase prompted hot tears to sting her cheeks.

Grace had suspected her daughter of being a lesbian. Why else would Agnes have broken off with a perfect match like John Manning? Squandered opportunities were perverse. Oh, that voice, still in Agnes's head.

The body always wants to live. The spirit is less certain, more susceptible to the heart.

Franklin Square series and

I feel so saturated with Maine, but am so separate from its people.

Hiram dropped dead. Too bad, but at least he hadn't expired, or passed, or left this world, or gone to his maker, or even had a heart attack. He deserved a straightforward death.

if they told their own stories, our whole society could fall apart. They have to think it's nothing. But—

Maud, this is Dr. Goodman. I have asked her to sit in with us to get to know you a bit. She has been working with Heidi." "Oh. I didn't know." "I hope it is all right." Dr. Goodman quickly moved to shake Maud's hand with warm, dry fingers. A swift assessment occurred, and through an ineffable, possibly chemical process, the women reached the conclusion that they liked each other. She retreated to a spot behind Dr. Straight.

Agnes eyed the plums in the fruit bowl. They were hard as stone, merely decorative this early in the summer. But the color, purple and red, with a yellow pulse beneath the skin, made her mouth water. She felt a pang of sympathy for William Carlos Williams and his swiped plum.

to me that people across the globe

Sylvie made a noise in the range of an assent, but short of true acquiescence.

The white sky was becoming pearly, and the street lamps suddenly punctured the gloaming.