Thursday, June 30, 2011

Lines that Stick

At New England Sisters in Crime meetings, we sometimes read lines we wish we’d written. People in the group have quoted from well-known authors and from short stories written by other Sisters in Crime.

I’ve avoided having to choose from among the many talented writers I know and instead include four quotes that I’ve never been able to forget. They’re not from mystery writers but the words touch on violence, mystery, and power.

From Ralph Ellisons’s The Invisible Man, “I am an invisible man. No, I am not a spook like those who haunted Edgar Allan Poe; nor am I one of your Hollywood-movie ectoplasms. I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids—I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, because people refuse to see me.”

I don’t pretend to experience what a black person does but I have often felt invisible.

Charles II of England said on his death bed, I’m sorry to be such a long time dying.

He had over one hundred illegitimate children and was said to be truly the father of his people. I think he learned how to read his audience and he knew those around his bed couldn’t wait to grab power and make sweeping changes.5274323662_4f98246ef7_m

George Orwell in Animal Farm wrote, “Everyone’s equal but some are more equal than others.”

I think that sums up our human endeavors to make equality and democracy real.

In Paradise, Toni Morrison wrote, “They shoot the white girl first. With the rest they can take their time. No need to hurry out here.”

Those first lines are so stark and set the mood for the rest of the story. They haunt me.

I’m sure there are mystery writers who can quote lines as witty and/or haunting.

7 comments:

  1. My favorite is from Robert Parker. Spenser's observation:

    "I was dressed to the nines, armed to the teeth, and if I wasn't me, I'da wished I was."

    Sorry-don't have my books nearby or I'd cite the novel.

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  2. When I seen the black-eyed girl I wisht I had a bible.

    One of Louis Lamore's Sackett books

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  3. The last line of John Gardner's classic 1971 novel, _Grendel_, haunts me, as the monster protagonist stands at the edge of a cliff, bleeding out, surrounded by enemies:

    "Poor Grendel's had an accident," I whisper. "_So may you all._"

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  4. "There is no end of things in the heart." Lost Light by Michael Connelly.
    "The man behind the cluttered desk looked like the devil, and Nell Dysart figured that was par for her course since she’d been going to hell for a year and a half anyway. Meeting Gabrial McKenna just meant she’d arrived." Fast Women by Jennifer Crusie
    These are two very different lines, but they stick with me. There are so many that rattle around in my head! I wish I'd written them all. Good post and good comments. I love reading them.

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  5. What great lines, Elaine, Warren, Simone, and Ellis. They say so much.

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  6. One of my favorites is from Sherlock Holmes:

    "...when you have excluded the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

    It helps me when writing stories, but it also helps me when I've looked in all the "obvious" places for my missing keys. ;o)

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  7. Hi Morgan. I agree. The line makes a lot of sense for just plain living.

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