Cee Quotes

We've searched our database for all the quotes and captions related to Cee. Here they are! All 100 of them:

When they asked me what I wanted to be I said I didn’t know. "Oh, sure you know," the photographer said. "She wants," said Jay Cee wittily, "to be everything.
Sylvia Plath (The Bell Jar)
I've never had a moment's doubt. I love you. I believe in you completely. You are my dearest one. My reason for life. Cee
Ian McEwan (Atonement)
Dearest Cecilia, You’d be forgiven for thinking me mad, the way I acted this afternoon. The truth is I feel rather light headed and foolish in your presence, Cee, and I don’t think I can blame the heat.
Ian McEwan (Atonement)
That's what friends should do. cherish the good and pretend not to notice the harmless rest.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
It's how we survive the hurt in life that brings us strength and gives us beauty.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
Well, hi, CeeCee," I said. "Hi, Adam. Nice of you two to drop by. Ever heard of knocking?" "Oh, please," CeeCee said. "Why? Because we might interrupt you and your precious Jesse?" Jesse, upon hearing this, raised his eyebrows. Way up.
Meg Cabot (Haunted (The Mediator, #5))
Don't go wasting all them bright tomorrows you ain't even seen by hanging on to what happened yesterday. Let go, child. Just breathe out and let go.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
Conversations consist for the most part of things one does not say.
Cees Nooteboom
don't grow up to fast, darling. Age is inevitable, but if you nuture a childlike heart, you'll never ever grow old.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
It's what we believe about ourselves that determines how others see us.
Beth Greiner Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
Life don't wait for nobody, and even as special as you are, it ain't gonna wait for you, neither. So it's time to make up your mind that you're gonna join it.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
Life is full of change, honey. That's how we learn and grow. When we're born, the Good Lord gives each of us a Life Book. Chapter by chapter, we live and learn... When a chapter of your Life Book is complete, your spirit knows it's time to turn the page so a new chapter can begin. Even when you're scared or think you're not ready, your spirit knows you are.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
It's how we survive the hurts in life that brings us strength and gives us our beauty.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
[She] was a remarkable looking woman. Remarkable in that she wasn’t what most people would call beautiful. But she oozed a raw femaleness that I was certain made most women uncomfortable and sent men walking into walls. And when she smiled. Well. That was magic.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
Memory is like a dog that lies down where it pleases.
Cees Nooteboom (Rituals)
You got dealt some crappy cards. But you're the one who has to decide how to play them.
Diane Chamberlain (The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes)
Come on, girl. Don't cry," whispered Frank. "Why not? I can be miserable if I want to. You don't need to try and make it go away. It shouldn't go away. It's just as sad as it ought to be and I'm not going to hide from what's true just because it hurts." Cee wasn't sobbing anymore, but the tears were still running down her cheeks.
Toni Morrison (Home)
far too many people die with a heart thats gone flat with indiferance, and it surely must be a terrible way to go. Life will offer amazing oppurtunities, but we've got to be wide-awake to recognize them.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
That's life out there. See how it's movin? Even the leaves on the trees is movin'. Life don't wait for nobody, and even as special as you are, it ain't gonna wait for you, neither. So it's time to make up your mind that you're gonna join it.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
Don't grow up too fast, Darling. Age is inevitable, but if you nurture a childlike heart, you'll never, ever grow old.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
But lately,' she said, wiggling her bare toes, 'I find all men to be very much like wearing high-heeled shoes -- I love how pretty they make me feel, but by the end of the night I can't wait to get rid of them.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
But if you have so much fun, then why don't you get together more than once a month?' She looked at me like a wise old owl and winked. 'Do something too often and it stops being special.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
Language is something you inherit, it's never just you doing the talking, which helps when you're pretending.
Cees Nooteboom
We need to talk.” “I’m just – Look,” I said, as he took a step toward me. “I’m just going to give Cee Cee a call and maybe we’ll go to the beach or something, because I really … I just need a day off.”Another step toward me. Now he was right in front of me. “Especially,” I said significantly, looking up at him, “from talking. That’s what I especially need a day off from. Talking.” “Fine,” he said. He reached up and cupped my face in both his hands. “We don’t have to talk.”And that’s when he kissed me. On the lips.
Meg Cabot
Oysters are a lot like women. It's how we survive the hurts in life that brings us strength and gives us our beauty.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
What's the difference between eccentric and crazy?' She lifted her hands above her head, tapped her zills together, and danced out the door. From over her shoulder she laughed and called out, 'Nobody knows!
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
I felt very low. I had been unmasked only that morning by Jay Cee herself, and I felt now that all the uncomfortable suspicions I had about myself were coming true. After nineteen years of running after good marks and prizes and grants of one sort and another, I was letting up, slowing down, dropping clean out of race.
Sylvia Plath (The Bell Jar)
It was around then that the phone rang. It was my friend Cee Cee, wanting to know if I cared to join her and Adam McTavish at the Coffee Clutch to drink iced tea and talk bad about everyone we know.
Meg Cabot (Darkest Hour (The Mediator, #4))
I was too emotional to say anything. I was experiencing many “feels” as the kids on Tumblr—my computer-savvy friend CeeCee has told me about it—often say.
Meg Cabot (The Proposal (The Mediator, #6.5))
Now there's something else I know. You might not think you're grieving, but grief comes in all sorts of ways. There's the kind of grief that leaves you numb, and the kind of grief that rips your world in half. And then there's another kind of grief that doesn't feel like grief at all. Its like a tiny splinter you don't even know you have until it festers so deep it has nowhere left to go but into your soul. I think that's the hardest kind of grief there is because you know you're hurting but you don't know why.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
I loved this time of night, how everything softened and lost the hard edges of day, and how, if the wind moved just right, the live oaks would murmur tender green words across the shadowy lawn. Sitting with a book in the warm circle of light from the table lamp had become my favorite way to end the day.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
She wore her sadness on the outside, like a heavy winter coat.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
Friday is a purple-velvet-sofa day for some poor woman who's finally reclaimed her life. A purple velvet sofa is a gal's symbol of freedom.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
…It’s my fire… Everyone needs to find the one thing that brings out her passion. It’s what we do and share with the world that matters…far too many people die with a heart that’s gone flat with indifference, and it surely must be a terrible way to go. Life will offer us amazing opportunities, but we have got to be wide-awake to recognize them… it’s in that you’ll find your calling in life. That’s where true happiness and purpose lies. You’ll never be fulfilled if you don’t.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
Carry the confidence.
Diane Chamberlain (The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes)
Ain't no sun in the kitchen without your face lookin' up at me.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
c'mon now, honey, don't be mad at me. I don't mean to lie, I just remember big.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
far too many people die with a heart that's gone flat with indifference, and it surely must be a terrible way to go. Life will offer us amazing opportunities, but we've got to be wide-awke to recognize them.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
The human mind is an amazing thing. It protects us when we can't protect ourselves. Sometimes when we're holding pain and it gets to be too heavy or goes too deep, we have to give in to it, let it knock us over and pull us all the way down. Once we hit bottom, we rest in a quiet place for a while. Then, when the pain eases and we're ready to face the world again, we come right back up.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
Well, what I don't understand is why people get all dressed up and drive to church so they can sit there and get scolded. Seems to me it'd be a whole lot easier for the to just stay home in their pj's, eat pancakes, and get yelled at over the radion.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
I find all men to be very much like wearing high-heeled shoes - I love how pretty they make me feel, but by the end of the night I can't wait to get rid of them .. Thelma Rae Goodpepper in Saving CeeCee Honeycutt
Beth Hoffman
Just know, my darling girl, that if I could, I would call you every day of your life just to say "I love you" with nothing else attached to those words. No criticism. No advice. No requests. Just to say I love you.
Diane Chamberlain (The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes)
I stood there a long while, staring at that tree. It looked so strong So beautiful. Hurt right down the middle But alive and well. Cee touched my shoulder Lightly. Frank? Yes? Come on, brother. Let's go home.
Toni Morrison (Home)
Jay Cee's ugly as sin.
Sylvia Plath (The Bell Jar)
Lucille always loved a strong breeze. She said it was nature's way of blowing away our sorrows.' Just then another gust of wind whipped around us. Aunt Tootie smiled. I smiled too.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
We are our secrets, and, if all goes well, we will take them with us to where no-one can touch them.
Cees Nooteboom ('s Nachts komen de vossen)
...I wondered if I'd ever be so lucky to have a girlfriend I'd grow old with, a girlfriend who knew my secrets, my fears, my hopes-- and loved me anyway.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
I don't give a chicken's sorry ass who taught you. I just want to play.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
Middle school is kind of like Middle-earth. It’s a magical journey filled with elves, dwarves, hobbits, queens, kings, and a few corrupt wizards. Word to the wise: pick your traveling companions well. Ones with the courage and moral fiber to persevere. Ones who wield their lip gloss like magic wands when confronted with danger. This way, when you pass through the congested hallways rife with pernicious diversion, you achieve your desired destination—or at least your next class. -CeCee, Lucy and CeCee's How to Survive (and Thrive) in Middle School
Kimberly Dana (Lucy and CeCee's How to Survive (and Thrive) in Middle School)
1. "It is what we believe about ourselves that determines how others see us" 2. (regarding friends) "cherish the good and pretend not to notice the harmless rest" 3. "oysters are a lot like women. It's how we survive the hurts in life that brings us strength and gives us our beauty
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
May we never go to hell, but always be on our way!
Brie_Cee
Life is full of change, honey. That's how we learn and grow. When we're born, the Good Lord gives each of us a Life book. Chapter by chapter, we live and learn.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
It occurred to me that that's what friends should do: cherish the good and pretend not to notice the harmless rest.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
I find all men to be very much like wearing high-healed shoes--I love how pretty they make me feel, but by the end of the night I can't wait to get rid of them.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
It's what we believe about ourselves that determines how others see us." Saving CeeCee Honeycut
Beth Hoffman
Do you have a pet bird?' I asked, looking around the room. 'Oh, heavens, no. I'd never cage a bird. I can't imagine a worse fate, can you? I bought this cage at a market in Peru several years ago. I hung it here and wired the door open to remind myself how delicious freedom is -- financial and otherwise.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
I looked out of the window and saw him sitting in the early rays of the sun, a dark silhouette in the sand, motionless as a rock, and knew at once that I had substituted one memory for another and that this one would leave me with as little peace as the other one had. I would exist in someone else's mind, without knowing who I was in there.
Cees Nooteboom (Lost Paradise)
butuh berapa sayatan untuk memusnahkan cinta dari jiwa? butuh berapa tusukan untuk membunuh rindu yg memenjara dalam dada? sekalian kau kuliti saja namamu dari kulit jantung ini, agar terlepas semua tentangmu, dan aku tak mengenangmu lagi suatu waktu
firman nofeki
He thought that, unlike most people, he had simply refused to let himself be brainwashed by newspapers, television, eschatologies, and philosophies into believing that "in spite of everything" this was an acceptable world simply because it existed. It would never become acceptable. Beloved maybe, acceptable never.
Cees Nooteboom (Rituals)
Good," he said. "We need to talk." Suddenly, I didn't feel so relaxed anymore. Talk? What does he want to talk about? The part where I nearly died? I didn't want to talk about that. Because the fact is, that whole part, the part where I nearly died, well, I nearly died trying to save him. Seriously. I was hoping he hadn't noticed, but I could tell by the look on his face that he totally had. Noticed, I mean. And now he wanted to talk about it. But how could I talk about it? Without letting it slip? The L word, I mean. "You know what?" I said, very fast. "I don't want to talk. Is that okay? I really, really don't want to talk. I am all talked out. Jesse lifted Spike of his lap and put him on the floor. Then he stood up. What was he doing? I wondered. What was he doing? I took a deep breath, and kept talking about not talking. "I'm just--Look," I said as he took a step toward me. "I'm just going to give CeeCee a call and maybe we'll go to the beach or something, because really...I just need a day off." Another step forward. Now he was right in front of me. "Especially," I said, significantly, looking up at him, "from talking. That's especially what I need a day off from. Talking." "Fine," he said. He reached up and cupped my face in both hands. "We don't have to talk." And that's when he kissed me. On the lips.
Meg Cabot
It's our hearts that tell us the truth of things, honey, and my heart has never betrayed me. Not ever.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
We're not weird. We just dare to be different.
CeeLo Green
Herinnering is als een hond die gaat liggen waar hij wil.
Cees Nooteboom
...far too many people die with a heart that's gone flat with indifference, and it surely must be a terrible way to go. Life will offer us amazing opportunities, but we've got to be wide-awake to recognize them.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
Yes. Everyone needs to find the one thing that brings out her passion. it's what we do to and share with the world that matters. I believe it's important that we leave our communities in better shape than we found them.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
...Everyone needs to find the one thing that brings out her passion. It's what we do and share with the world that matters...
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
Books became my life, or maybe I should say books became the way I escaped from my life.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
Just set up the board as best you can. We'll play with whatever we got.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
...a poem is only finished when the last reader has read it or listened to it.
Cees Nooteboom (All Souls' Day)
Wisteria is my favorite flowering vine. Do you know why?' I shook my head. 'No, ma'am.' 'Because it's strong -- just like me.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
dont go wastin all them bright tomorrows you aint even seen yet by hangin on to what happened yesterday.Let go Child. Just breathe out and let go- oletta
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
One day you'll do something, see something or get an idea that seems to pop up from nowhere. And you'll feel a kind of stirring- like a warm flicker inside your chest. When that happens, whatever you do, don't ignore it. Open your mind and explore the idea. Fan your flame.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
Oh Cecelia, you would have loved my grandmother, Miz Goodpepper said, dunking a cookie into her wine. She was so alive and full of original ideas, especially for that era. While other women were busy being proper, she was busy cultivating her spirit.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
Ik zal afscheid nemen van mijn vrienden en weggaan zonder weg te gaan vanwege de herinneringen die ik meeneem en achterlaat en als ik terugkom zal alles anders zijn en toch hetzelfde en voorgoed veranderd.
Cees Nooteboom (Berlijnse notities)
A small patch of sunflowers came into view. Dozens of tall stalks topped with heavy golden flower heads swayed in they hot breeze. From a distance they looked like a group of ladies with their heads hung low, as if embarrassed that they'd arrived at a party wearing identical hats.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
I remember when, I remember, I remember when I lost my mind! There was something so special about that place...even your emotions had an echo...and so much space!
CeeLo Green
It was almost nine o’clock. The witching hour, the time the teenaged boys trickled back to the house from wherever they’d hung out during the day.
CeeCee James (Fear No More (Ghost No More #3))
Noah built the ark to save animals, not lettuce. I take that to mean God approves of me eating a good steak.
Cee Bowerman (Forever Family (Texas Knights MC, #2))
Every single person who comes into your life, from a doctor to a trash collector, can teach you something if you let them.
Diane Chamberlain (The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes)
Kummer hat etwas in den Linien deines Gesichts zu suchen, nicht in deiner Erinnerung.
Cees Nooteboom
I find all men to be very much like wearing high-heeled shoes - I love how pretty they make me feel, but by the end of the night I can't wait to get rid of them.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
when it comes to making a decision, look at both sides, listen to your heart, then pick one and dive in.
Diane Chamberlain (The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes: A Novel)
...we have become a throwaway society. Instead of honoring and preserving our past, we tear it down, shove it aside, and just go on our merry way. Well, I won't have it. We have to stand firm for what we believe in. Only in the most dire circumstances should a structure of historical significance be demolished.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
Surely one zoo in the world should have the courage to draw the ultimate conclusion about our ancestry? A cage with Homo Sapiens in all its varying forms, perhaps then we would understand ourselves better. The question of course is whether the other animals would approve of it.
Cees Nooteboom (Nomad's Hotel)
La foto è il feticcio che ti dovrebbe riportare indietro il tempo, ma il guadagno coincide con la perdita: in cambio del ricordo di un te stesso precedente ricevi la consapevolezza di ciò che è definitivamente passato, dell'istante che non tornerà mai più mentre ciò che volevi era proprio fermarlo.
Cees Nooteboom
The Fifth Key Lizbet Keaton’s Breakup Playlist “Good 4 U”—Olivia Rodrigo “All Too Well” (Taylor’s version)—Taylor Swift “If Looks Could Kill”—Heart “You Oughta Know”—Alanis Morissette “Far Behind”—Social Distortion “Somebody That I Used to Know”—Gotye “Marvin’s Room”—Drake “Another You”—Elle King “Gives You Hell”— The All-American Rejects “Kiss This”—The Struts “Save It for a Rainy Day”—Kenny Chesney “I Don’t Wanna Be in Love”—Good Charlotte “Best of You”—Foo Fighters “Rehab”—Rihanna “Better Now”—Post Malone “Forget You”—CeeLo Green “Salt”—Ava Max “Go Your Own Way”—Fleetwood Mac “Since U Been Gone”—Kelly Clarkson “Praying”—Kesha
Elin Hilderbrand (The Hotel Nantucket)
If there's one thing I'd like most for you, it's that you'll find your calling in life. That's where true happiness and purpose lies. Whether it's taking care of abandoned animals, saving old houses from the wreckin' ball, or reading to the blind, you've got to find your fire, sugar. You'll never be fulfilled if you don't.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
She glanced over her shoulder at the house, which was now bathed in a warm tint of yellow from the sun. "Yes, everyone needs to find the one thing that brings out her passion. Its what we do and share with the world that matters. I believe its important that we leave our communities in better shape that we found them. Cecelia Rose," she said, reaching for my hand, "Far too many people die with a heart that's gone flat with indifference, and it surely must be a terrible way to go. Life will offer us amazing opportunities, but we've got to be awake to recognize them." She rested her hands on my shoulders and looked into my eyes. "If there's one thing I'd like most for you, its that you'll find your calling in life. That's where true happiness and purpose lie. Whether its taking care of abandoned animals, saving old houses from the wreckin' ball or reading to the blind, you've got to find your fire, sugar. You'll never be fulfilled if you don't." "But how will I know what my fire is?" "Oh, you'll know. One day you'll do something, see something or get an idea that seems to pop up from nowhere. And you'll feel a kind of stirring- like a warm flicker inside your chest. When that happens, whatever you do, don't ignore it. Open your mind and explore the idea. Fan your flame. And when you do, you'll have found it.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
Life is full of change, honey. That's how we learn and grow. When we're born, the Good Lord gives each of us a Life Book. Chapter by chapter, we live and learn.'"-
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
We all need to be careful in this world, but I promise you, for every bad person on this earth there's a hundred good ones.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
He read a lot, but what he read, and not just that but everything he saw, films and paintings, he translated into feeling. And this feeling, which could not immediately be expressed in words, not yet and maybe never, that formless mass of sentiments, impressions, observations — that was his way of thinking. You could circle around it with words, but there always remained far more that was not expressed than was. And later, too, a certain resentment would take possession of him, toward those people who demanded precise answers, or pretended to be able to give them. It was, on the contrary, the very mystery of everything that was so attractive. You should not want to impose too much order on it. If you did, something would be lost irrevocably. That mysteries can become more mysterious if you think about them with precision and method, he did not yet know. He felt at home in his sentimental chaos. To chart it you had to be an adult, but then you were at once labelled, finished, and in effect already a little dead.
Cees Nooteboom (Rituals)
So it was just herself. In this world with these people she wanted to be the person who would never again need rescue. Not from Lenore through the lies of the Rat, not from Dr. Beau through the courage of Sarah and her brother. [...] She wanted to be the one who rescued her own self. [...] Wishing would not make it so, nor would blame, but thinking might. If she did not respect herself, why should anybody else?
Toni Morrison (Home)
She looked up and smiled. “I’m glad you found some books that interest you. Would you like a glass of lemonade?” Though I was hoping to thank her for the books and be on my way, I didn't want to seem rude. I nodded and set the stack of books on the counter. While Miz Goodpepper pulled a pitcher from the refrigerator, I asked, “Is the Kama Sutra a volcano?” She gasped and splashed lemonade across the kitchen counter. The strangest look streaked across her face as she sopped up the mess with a wad of paper towels. “Well, I suppose some might think it's a volcano of sorts, but I can say with absolute assurance you wouldn't enjoy that book.” “That's what I thought,” I said, feeling pleased with myself, so I put it back on the shelf. She let out a barely audible sigh. “Good.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
I tried not to smile as I gathered the marbles. After counting them out by color and placing them into the holes, I looked at Sapphire and shrugged. 'There aren't enough.' Miz Obee's face tensed, but Sapphire looked at her friend kindly, patted the table, and said, 'Just set up the board as best you can. We'll play with whatever we got.' I thought that was one of the wisest things I'd ever heard anyone say.
Beth Hoffman (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)
When a memory fails to appear, it seems as though the time when it was created did not really exist, and maybe that is true. Time itself is nothing; only the experience of it is something. When that dies, it assumes the form of a denial, the symbol of mortality, what you have already lost before you lose everything. When his friend had said something similar to his father, his response had been, "If you had to retain everything, you’d explode. There’s simply not enough space for it all. Forgetting is like medicine; you have to take it at the right time.
Cees Nooteboom (Roads to Berlin)
Je wordt natuurlijk wel gelooid. De wereld is daar heel goed in. Iedereen begint met talent, iedereen heeft een kaarsje en dat brandt. De meeste mensen laten het uitgaan of het wordt door anderen wel uitgeblazen. Dat begint al vroeg. Een kind tekent een huis met een veel te grote zon. De verhoudingen kloppen niet, zegt de volwassene. Dan ben je al bezig aan de afbraak. Of een kind vertelt een verhaal dat niet klopt. Dat heb je gelogen, zegt een volwassene. Nee, het kind heeft het verzonnen. Je moet tegen elke wind in, in iedere storm, dat kaarsje zien aan te houden.
Cees Nooteboom
So-called real life has only once interfered with me, and it had been a far cry from what the words, lines, books had prepared me for. Fate had to do with blind seers, oracles, choruses announcing death, not with panting next to the refrigerator, fumbling with condoms, waiting in a Honda parked round the corner and surreptitious encounters in a Lisbon hotel. Only the written word exists, everything one must do oneself is without form, subject to contingency without rhyme or reason. It takes too long. And if it ends badly the metre isn't right, and there's no way to cross things out.
Cees Nooteboom (The Following Story)
Wij hebben het nu over jou. Vergeet niet, ik ben notaris geweest. Ik maak die dingen altijd af. Wat wil jij worden?' 'Ik weet het niet.' Hij begreep dat dat geen goed antwoord was, maar het was het enige, zelfs als iemand graag altijd alles afmaakte. Hij had geen flauw idee. Eigenlijk wist hij zeker dat hij nooit iets wou, maar ook nooit iets zóú worden. De wereld was al boordevol met mensen die iets waren, en de meesten waren er duidelijk niet gelukkig mee.
Cees Nooteboom (Rituals)
All right, she thought I was a funny little geezer, but my charred Phaethon had impressed her, I was very obviously available, and she was out for revenge. What makes Greek tragedies great is that this brand of psychological nonsense doesn't enter into it at all. I had wanted to tell her that too, but unfortunately conversations consist for the most part of things one does not say. We are descendents, we do not have mythical lives, but psychological ones. And we know everything, we are always our own chorus.
Cees Nooteboom (The Following Story)
I said I was afraid and she told me to think about a time I felt brave and take that feeling into the situation with me. It worked. It helped.” Corinne leaned away from the Plexiglas, horrified. “Of course, since that time, I’ve learned much more about the technique,” her mother said. “I’ve learned to make it much more elegant, but the basics are still the same. Take that old calm, confident feeling with you into the new situation. I used it or a variant of it with clients all the time.” She knit her eyebrows, looking hard at Corinne. “I used it for evil during the kidnapping,” she said. “Now you can use it for good.
Diane Chamberlain (The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes)