Hilary Mantel (Dame Hilary Mary Mantel) Quotes
Suppose within each book there is another book, and within every letter on every page another volume constantly unfolding; but these volumes take no space on the desk. Suppose knowledge could be reduced to a quintessence, held within a picture, a sign, held within a place which is no place. Suppose the human skull were to become capacious, spaces opening inside it, humming chambers like beehives.
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Quotes to Explore
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Because the nights bring the threat of invasion and terror to the villages, thousands of children in northern Uganda have become night commuters, leaving the nightmare of capture behind for the safety of the city.
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When I was born, my parents - my mother especially - couldn't come to terms with that fact that they had another baby girl. I know these stories in detail because every time a guest visited, or there was a gathering, they repeated this story in front of me that how I was the unwanted child.
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I don't know much about football. I know what a goal is, which is surely the main thing about football.
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When I'm depressed, I definitely comfort eat, but I also eat when I'm happy. The only time I don't eat is if I am terribly nervous.
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Man has made many machines, complex and cunning, but which of them indeed rivals the workings of his heart?
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The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.
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It's cool that I'm 20 and am on the cover of the video game. A lot of kids play hockey, and a few get drafted, and only a few get to be on the cover. It's a great feeling.
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I'm only at the beginning of my career, but I feel successful in that I haven't sold out in any way, shape or form. I feel good about the choices I've made, and I don't feel like I've let go of any of my values.
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One of the great lessons I learned about historical fiction from writing 'Loving Frank' is that you don't try to disguise what people did; my approach was to try to understand the characters and why they did what they did.
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God only pours out his light into the mind after having subdued the rebellion of the will by an altogether heavenly gentleness which charms and wins it.
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The only distinction that democracies reward is a high degree of conformity.
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Billy asked him if such men as had stole his eyes were only products of the war but the blind man said that since war itself was their very doing that could hardly be the case.
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It's part of the calling to at least do a few songs in the show that give people some hope. There's so much hurt in this world and... music is such a great healing balm and a great way to forget your troubles.
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Its goodness is a decision for the mouth to make.
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My home has a split personality. Some of the rooms are very French antique. Think Aubusson rugs, turquoise ceramic jugs, sandbag pillows, and broken birdcages. The other half is very Aztec. Neon ikat fabric pillows, vintage books piled up to the ceiling, and shutters from Bali.
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There are very few actresses who can grow old and still get exciting parts... I think it's very important for me to have wider horizons, rather than just waiting for calls.
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Every problem that is interesting is also soluble.
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My life is an open book.
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Each new book that comes out kind of pulls up the old ones a little bit. The new releases are always going to bolster the old releases.
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I'm constantly snatching my books out of the hands of precocious ten-year-olds who are simply too young to read them, despite parents insisting that dear Octavia has a reading age of 28. I remember trying to read 'In Cold Blood' at the age of twelve, and realising that just because you can read book doesn't mean you should.
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I definitely feel like when I write a book it's not my job to police or guide the readers. The book and the characters don't belong to me anymore. If that makes sense.
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I had a book of essays out in 1997 in which I talked about the increasing virtuality of our lives. I've always been afraid of that in my own life.
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My parents were travelers. Every time my parents got ten dollars ahead they went somewhere. That's what they did. So I got the bug from them.
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Suppose within each book there is another book, and within every letter on every page another volume constantly unfolding; but these volumes take no space on the desk. Suppose knowledge could be reduced to a quintessence, held within a picture, a sign, held within a place which is no place. Suppose the human skull were to become capacious, spaces opening inside it, humming chambers like beehives.