The absence of doll babies in my toy chest didn't seriously influence my later decision not to become a mother; rather, I disdained Hasbro's Baby Alive wetting doll because I was already the kind of girl who would grow up to be childless by choice. Lionel Shriver More Quotes by Lionel Shriver More Quotes From Lionel Shriver Life is never easy so that is why I never lie about my age. I want credit for every damned year. Lionel Shriver inspirationlyingyears In the big picture I write for an audience of people I've never met. By the final draft I'm looking for anything in the prose that's prospectively boring to strangers. Lionel Shriver finalswritingpeople it is always difficult to impress the ignorant. Lionel Shriver ignorantdifficultignorance Built like an oak tree, against which I could pitch my pillow and read; mornings, I could curl into the crook of your branches. Lionel Shriver curlstreemorning I thought at the time that I couldn't be horrified anymore, or wounded. I suppose that's a common conceit, that you've already been so damaged that damage itself, in its totality, makes you safe. Lionel Shriver damagesafecommon It's always the mother's fault, ain't it?" she said softly, collecting her coat. "That boy turn out bad cause his mama a drunk, or she a junkie. She let him run wild, she don't teach him right from wrong. She never home when he back from school. Nobody ever say his daddy a drunk, or his daddy not home after school. And nobody ever say they some kids just damned mean. Lionel Shriver motherhomerunning No eleven-year-old has any real grasp of death. He doesn't have any real concept of other people--that they feel pain, even that they exist. And his own adult future isn't real to him, either. Makes it that much easier to throw away. Lionel Shriver painrealyears Lovers communicate not inside sentences, but between them. Passion lurks within interstice. It is grouting rather than bricks. Lionel Shriver brickspassionlovers When you've been afraid of something for long enough and it comes to pass, the terrible thing is a release. For in the belly of the badness there is no more fear. Lionel Shriver releaseenoughlong Worse, the deadly accuracy of filial faultfinding is facilitated by access, by trust, by willing disclosure, and so constitutes a double betrayal. Lionel Shriver filialaccuracybetrayal We need to recognise that slowing population growth is one of the most cost-effective and reliable ways of easing pressure on our environment and securing a sustainable future for us all Lionel Shriver populationgrowthneeds Yet if there's no reason to live without a child, how could there be with one? To answer one life with a successive life is simply to transfer the onus of purpose to the next generation; the displacements amounts to a cowardly and potentially infinite delay. Your children's answer, presumably, will be to procreate as well, and in doing so to distract themselves, to foist their own aimlessness onto their offspring. Lionel Shriver generationspurposechildren When Mexico enjoys an economic boom while the U.S. is in dire fiscal straights, it seemed perfectly credible that Mexico would not roll out the welcome mat for unemployed Americans. Lionel Shriver welcomeeconomicenjoy Many, if not most, countries blithely expect their citizens to have carte blanche access to the U.S., "land of immigrants," as a veritable human right, but put up all manner of barriers to Americans who want to emigrate in the opposite direction. Lionel Shriver blanchebarrierscountry It was important to me to put together a future history that would scan, and serve as the backdrop to the domestic story. Economics is really what drives the plot. Lionel Shriver importanttogether You can't be stylish and petty at the same time. Lionel Shriver stylishpetty We are not attracted to people because they are virtuous. In fact, there's something a little creepy about people who are too good. There is a big draw to people who are successful at breaking the rules. That means we end up admiring a lot of people that we think we shouldn't. Lionel Shriver successfulmeanthinking Notoriety is cheap. It's just easier to get noticed by doing something bad. Lionel Shriver notorietyeasier One of my problems with terrorism is that it's self-evidently bad. The main thing that makes it complicated is the fact that it works. When you go at it with a moral hammer, it's really, really bad. It's so bad you wouldn't believe it because you don't accomplish anything. I think the one thing terrorists themselves are vulnerable to is mockery. It's an excellent weapon. Lionel Shriver selfbelievethinking In fact, it's become politically important to offend people, because we have to fight back against this notion that being offensive should be against the law or something, and that everyone supposedly deserves "respect" for their often dopy views. Lionel Shriver fightingimportantpeople
