"Anita," Fergus said, turning to her. "This is a hell of a world we live in."

"Oh, I know," Anita said casually. She nodded. "Yuh, I know." She added, "Always has been, I suspect."

"Do you think so?" Fergus asked. He looked at her through his sunglasses. "Do you think it has always been this bad, really? It seems to me like things are getting crazier."

Anita shrugged. "I think they've always been crazy. That's my view." [...]

After another few moments he said, "Things all right with you, Anita?"

She gave a sigh that made her cheeks expand for a moment. "Nah." She looked both ways on the road and said, "Gary's been a mess since he got laid off, and that was a few years ago, and my kids are crazy." She looked at Fergus and made a circle around her ear with her forefinger. She said, "I mean, they are really crazy." She shook her head. "You know what my oldest son is into? He watches some Japonese reality shows on his computer where the contestants sniff each other's butts."

Fergus looked over at her. "God," he said. Then he said, "Come on, Anita, the world has certainly gotten crazier."

Elizabeth Strout – Olive, Again (2019)
Penguin Random House UK (2019)

Olive sat forward and said, "Cindy Coombs, there's not one goddamn person in this world who doesn't have a bad memory or two to take with them through life." She sat back and crossed her feet at her ankles. 

Elizabeth Strout – Olive, Again (2019)
Penguin Random House UK (2019)

"You all know who you are. If you just look at yourself and listen to yourself, you know exactly who you are. And don't forget it."

Elizabeth Strout – Olive, Again (2019)
Penguin Random House UK (2019)

Maybe you fall in love with people who save your life, even when you think it's not worth saving. 

Elizabeth Strout – Olive, Again (2019)
Penguin Random House UK (2019)

Cindy said, "Mrs.Kitteridge, did you get married? Tom said he heard you married Jack Kennison [...] She said, "Yes, it's true. I have married Jack Kennison." [...] we're both old enough to know things now, and that's good."

"What things?"

"When to shut up, mainly"

"What things do you shut up about?" Cindy asked [...] "Well, for example, when he has his breakfast, I don't say to him, Jack, why the hell do you have to scrape your bowl so hard" [...] Imagine at my age, starting over again [...] "But it's never starting over, Cindy, it's just continuing on."

Elizabeth Strout – Olive, Again (2019)
Penguin Random House UK (2019)

And it came to him then that it should never be taken lightly, the essential loneliness of people, that the choices they made to keep themselves from that gaping darkness were choices that required respect 

Elizabeth Strout – Olive, Again (2019)
Penguin Random House UK (2019)

"Dad! They called you Frenchie?" Oh sure, Denny said, with a chuckle. "It's not funny," his son had said, adding, "Mrs. Kitteridge, way back in seventh grade, she told us this country was supposed to be a melting pot, but it never melted, and she was right," and he had gotten up and walked away, leaving Denny with his yearbook open on the kitchen table.

Mrs. Kitteridge was wrong. Times changed.

But Denny [...] now saw his son's point: To be called "Frenchie" was no longer acceptable. What Denny's son had not understood was that Denny had never had his feelings hurt by being called "Frenchie." As Denny kept walking, digging his hands deeper into his pockets, he began to wonder if this was true. He realized: What was true was that he, Denny, had accepted it. 

Elizabeth Strout – Olive, Again (2019)
Penguin Random House UK (2019)

Olive was telling Jack about the Somalis, who had moved here more than fifteen years ago, how it had caused a ruckus at first, Maine being such a white, white state. "And old," Olive added. But the Somalis were very entrepreneurial, according to Olive, and had started a bunch of businesses in town. 

Elizabeth Strout – Olive, Again (2019)
Penguin Random House UK (2019)

Halima looked concerned. "I don't like that," she said. "You should not be living alone."

Olive made a noise of disgust, waving her hand to indicate that this was a stupid thing to say. But Halima sat forward, pointing a finger at Olive. "In my culture," she said, "you would never be alone."

Olive didn't care for that. "Well, in my culture," Olive said, pointing her own finger toward the woman, "sons get married, go away, and never come back."

Elizabeth Strout – Olive, Again (2019)
Penguin Random House UK (2019)

"Well, Mom, he's probably sad about his wife," and Olive had said, "But, Chris, he walks around weeping!" And Christopher had said it was cultural. "Cultural?" Olive demanded. "What in hell does that mean?" Christopher said it meant the guy was Jewish, and Jewish men weren't ashamed to cry. 

Elizabeth Strout – Olive, Again (2019)
Penguin Random House UK (2019)

By the rivers of Babylon (1920)

Gebhard Fugel

* in https://cangurunews.com.br/cris-guerra-instrucoes-para-aprender-a-chorar/