Range of Motion Quotes

I stayed up till 2:00am last Friday night because I just had to finish this book, I didn't get groggy or anything. I thoroughly enjoyed it and couldn't decide which of my favorite quotes to share, so I chose almost all of them (except for one really long one and one that reveals the ending).

“Because I did get plucked from my normal life, put in the position of seeing it from another vantage point. And I would say that I did see it. I would say that I saw and saw and saw it. And though the method is not one I would have chosen to verify a supposition, I would also say that my gratefulness is unutterable.” Page 2

“And all that feeling sorry for her would be gone, because of what is in her that is so strong, and clear, and finished. You would want to talk to her. You would want her to know you, and to approve of you. You would believe that in her hands, things were safe. And brushing at the back of your shamed brain would be some new knowledge about our usual concept of beauty, namely, the extreme wrongness of it.” Page 15

“Even when you like other people’s kids, they’re still other people’s kids. You have to be a little more alert, a little nicer, it makes for a strain. I’d like to give her more than tulips. She deserves a piece of the glowing moon, captured in a jar.” Page 17

“Last night, I put her over my shoulder like a newborn—she’s about the same size—and watched the half-moon out the window while we creaked back and forth in the rhythm all women know from secrets whispered to their genes at the time of their conception.”
Page 24

“I feel a slight breeze, notice that the window is cracked open. Outside, spring comes in spite of everything. There are moments when we think nature happens just for us, and there are other moments when the ridiculousness of that notion is revealed.”
Page 31

“Among the things I like best about a good friendship are these kinds of revelations, these unveilings of selves we would never show to the world at large, though perhaps we should. Perhaps business meetings should start with people saying what they wore to bed last night.” Page 130

“Alice goes over to the coffeemaker and pours two cups, sets one down in front of me. Here is another thing I like about a good friendship, the go-aheadness of it all. You don’t have to knock to come in the door. You don’t have to ask to look in a refrigerator. You want coffee? Pour some. These friendships, formed by time, are getting so rare. I worry about that.” Page 130

“She sat beside him and he moved just the slightest bit away. It was tiny—he didn’t move anything but his shoulder, so that it wouldn’t be resting against hers. I thought it was so awful. I thought, what is this? And I thought if I had to put a name on that kind of behavior I would say it was withholding. And I would say that it is one of the worst kinds of poisons that exist in human relationships.” Page 150

“But it’s not my job to drive Alice’s car. It’s my job to verify the scenery.” Page 151

“I don’t know who brought it. I only know it’s here. And I accept it with profound ignorance and thanks, which is what we do with all miracles.” Page 155

“It was a community, don’t you see, all of us doing more or less the same thing, all of us full of a kind of hope you don’t have now. The isolation you people live with, it kind of infects everyone, makes you sick. Don’t you see that you need each other? I wonder sometimes, do you even know what you’re after?” Page 162

“You’re not an imbecile,” Alice says. “It’s something else. Naivete, maybe. But that’s only part of it. I envy you. I mean, you’re the kind of person who gets happy if the leftovers fit exactly into the Tupperware container.” Page 204

“There is some comfort in that story, for the way it suggests that there is a reason for everything, even though it may not be apparent. But there is this, too: some places get to stay dry. Some places don’t get hit at all. I will take my comfort there.” Page 219

“Jay’s room is full of the kindness of people he’s never met. It seems a miracle to me, living in what the world has become, that there could be such overt, free caring, such loving generosity.” Page 234

**Do quotes stand out to you in books, or are you
able to read the story and just take it all in?**

P.S. Don't forget to go to Kristi's blog to sign up for the Christmas (yes, it's July) exchange if you're interested. Also, Michelle posted a horrific spider story today which means I can't visit her blog until it's gone and I can't comment or I'll have to see the picture. I may not be able to visit her actual house for awhile either. I'm shaken to the core.