The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ivan: "Do you understand why this infamy must be and is permitted? Without it, I am told, man could not have existed on earth, for he could not have known good and evil. Why should he know that diabolical good and evil when it costs so much? Why, the whole world of knowledge is not worth that child's prayer to 'dear, kind God" (page 266)

"I understand nothing," Ivan went on, as though in delirium. "I don't want to understand anything now. I want to stick to the fact. I made up my mind long ago not to understand. If I try to understand anything, I shall be false to the fact, and I have determined to stick to the fact." (page 268)

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Novels & Stories 1932-37: The Pastures of Heaven/To a God Unknown/Tortilla Flat/In Dubious Battle/Of Mice & Men by John Steinbeck
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

IN DUBIOUS BATTLE (dec 24 - jan 8)

'All the time at home we were fighting, fighting something - hunger mostly. My old man was fighting the bosses. I was fighting the school. But always we lost. And after a long time I guess, it got to be part of our mind-stuff that we always would lose. ... can you see the hopelessness in that?' (page 549)

OF MICE AND MEN (jul 23 - aug 5)

'George's voice became deeper. He repeated his words rhythmically as though he had said them many times before. "Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place. They come to a ranch an' work up a stake, and the first thing you know they're poundin' their tail on some other ranch. They ain't got nothing to look ahead to."
Lennie was delighted. "That's it - that's it. Now tell how it is with us."
George went on. "Whit us it ain't like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. ..."
Lennie broke in. "But not us! An' why? Because ... because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's why." ...

"Go on now, George!"

...

"we're gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an' a cow and some pigs and -"

...

Lennie shouted. "And have rabbits. Go on George! ... (pages 806-7)


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Coraline by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

'"Stay here with us," said the voice from the figure at the end of the room.
"We will listen to you and play with you and laugh with you. Your other mother will build whole worlds for you to explore, and tear them down every night when you are done. Every day will be better and brighter than the one that went before. Remember the toy box? How much better would a world be built just like that, and all for you?"' (page 119)

...

'Coraline sighed. "You really don't understand, do you?" she said. "I don't want whatever I want. Nobody does. Not really. What kind of fun would it be if I just got everything I ever wanted? Just like that, and it didn't mean anything. What then?"' (page 120)

'"Cats don't have names," it said
"No?" said Coraline .
"No," said the cat. "Now, you people have names. That's because you don't know who you are. We know who we are, so we don't need names." (page 37)

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