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You do not have to utter anything you do not want to utter,” I told her, and she said, “Then I would never utter another word again.” “You do not have to do anything that you do not want to do.” “Then I would never do anything again.

Jonathan Safran Foer

She had fallen in love so many times that she began to suspect she was not falling in love at all, but doing something much more ordinary.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Beginning Fall In Love Herself Ordinary Time
In the morning, when the nothing vase casts a something shadow, like the memory of someone you’ve lost, what can you say about that?
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Lost Memories Morning Shadow Yourself
Sometimes I can hear my bones straining under the weight of all the lives I’m not living.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Bone Hear Live Myself Time Weight
Feathers filled the small room. Our laughter kept the feathers in the air. I thought about birds. Could they fly is there wasn’t someone, somewhere, laughing?
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Laughter Myself Room Small
I could not believe in a God that would challenge faith like this.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Believe Challenge Faith God Myself
I dreamt four nights ago of clock hands descending from the universe like rain, of the moon as a green eye, of mirrors and insects, of a love that never withdrew. It was not the feeling of completeness that I so needed, but the feeling of not being empty.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Complete Dreams Fantasy Feeling Myself Universe
This is love, she thought, isn’t it? When you notice someone’s absence and hate that absence more than anything? More, even, than you love his presence?
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Absence Hate Himself Love Presence
Just to be a functioning adult in the world, we develop all of these layers of protection. When we see homeless people, we don’t cry, even though homeless people probably deserve our tears – you know, it’s a horrible thing.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Adult Cry Deserve Development Function Home Ourselves People World
I am sure people tell you this constantly but if you looked up ‘incredibly beautiful’ in the dictionary there would be a picture of you.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Dictionary People Photograph Yourself
As long as I am thinking, I am alive.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Alive Myself Thinking
While it is always possible to wake a person who’s sleeping, no amount of noise will wake a person who is pretending to be asleep.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Asleep Person Possible Sleep Wake Willing
I wish my days could be washed away like the chalk lines of my days.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Day Myself Wash
In my family, Father is the world champion at ending conversations.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Conversation End Family Father Myself
We are lying to ourselves and to each other. Lying about what? I don’t care if we’re lying. I am a bad person. I don’t care. I don’t care what you are.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Bad Each Other Lying Yourself
But I believe that things are extremely complicated, and her looking over me was as complicated as anything could ever be. But it was also incredibly simple.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Believe Complication Myself Simplicity
It broke my heart into more pieces than my heart was made of, why can’t people say what they mean at the time?
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Heart Meaning Myself People Pieces Word
It was not the feeling of completeness I so needed, but the feeling of not being empty.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Complete Empty Feeling Myself Need
I was more alone than if I had been alone.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Alone Myself
I tried the key in all the doors, even though he said he didn’t recognize it. It’s not that I didn’t trust him, becuase I did. It’s that at the end of my search I wanted to be able to say: I don’t know how I could have tried harder.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Hard Key Myself Trust Try
My point is that there are a lot of forces, like the media and the general political rhetoric tells us we should have more. That we should do better than our parents and have a bigger house or a better car.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Better Car Force Home Media Parents Point Politics
The meaning of my thoughts started to float away from me, like leaves that fall from a tree into a river, I was the tree, the world was the river.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Leave Meaning Myself River Start Thinking Tree
Not responding is a response–we are equally responsible for what we don’t do. In the case of animal slaughter, to throw your hands in the air is to wrap your fingers around a knife handle.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Equality Fingers Respond Responsibility Throw Yourself
Why didn’t I learn to treat everything like it was the last time. My greatest regret was how much I believed in the future.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Believe Future Greatness Learning Time Treat
My wife and I have chosen to bring up our children as vegetarians. In another time or place, we might have made a different decision. But the realities of our present moment compelled us to make that choice.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Children Choice Decision Different Moments Place Present Reality Wife
I want an infinitely blank book and the rest of time.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Blank Book Infinite Myself Time
There are still many different ways to get stuck, existentially stuck. Feeling like, “This is worthless. I’m wasting my time, and I would be wasting the time of someone who tried to read this.” It happens all the time.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Different Myself Reading Wasted Time Way Worth
I have so much to say to you. I want to begin at the beginning, because that is what you deserve. I want to tell you everything, without leaving out a single detail. But where is the beginning? And what is everything?
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Beginning Deserve Detail Friendship Leaving Myself Relationship Talk Yourself

You do not have to utter anything you do not want to utter,” I told her, and she said, “Then I would never utter another word again.” “You do not have to do anything that you do not want to do.” “Then I would never do anything again.

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You do not have to utter anything you do not want to utter,” I told her, and she said, “Then I would never utter another word again.” “You do not have to do anything that you do not want to do.” “Then I would never do anything again.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Jonathan Safran Foer Quotes