"Sexual desire has to be dead as a doornail before a man and a woman can be genuinely at peace in a platonic relationship."

Susan Howatch Literature See all quotes by Susan Howatch →

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“A rational disposition must necessarily preclude a romantic outlook in life, and only the failures of this world can afford to dispense with a rational disposition.”

“'... we have to be kind, we have to be charitable and we can't condemn people just because they get in a mess...even the best people can get into ghastly messes,...we must never judge other people too harshly because although they can make awful mistakes they can still be very nice people.'”

“'He wasn't just being selfish, he was being realistic. Marriage would have been very difficult if not downright impossible.'”

“'Friendship's best,' I said, 'and friendship's forever because no baby can come along to spoil it.'”

“Kester wrote about people and since human nature doesn't change his observations hadn't dated.”

“Again, be patient. And have courage. Remember, everything passes, even the most unspeakable horrors.”

Resonant Thoughts

"Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten."

— Neil Gaiman

Literature1960–1996

#truth

"I met Beckett at my brother’s place. That was a Big meeting , in capital letters. It was before war started, life was still normal. That time I was very lonely. We saw each other often. Before the war…"

— Bram van Velde

Art1895–1981

#life

"The fault we admit to is seldom the fault we have, but it has a certain relationship to it, a somewhat similar shape, like that of a sleeve to an arm."

— Mignon McLaughlin

Journalism1913–1983

#happiness