Canadian Literature - Tumblr Posts

“One day he said to me ̶ […] ̶ 'Why are you sad?’. ‘I’m not sad,’ I said, and began to cry. Sympathy from strangers can be ruinous.”

—

Margaret Atwood, from ‘The Blind Assassin’, first published in 2000.

“Sometimes being offered tenderness feels like the very proof that you’ve been ruined”

- Ocean Vuong, from ‘On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous’, first published in 2019.

“Hatred would have been easier. With hatred, I would have known what to do.”

— Margaret Atwood, from ‘Cat’s Eye’, first published in 1988.

“It’s bad for me, but I need to remember what bad for me is like.”

— Margaret Atwood, from ‘Cat’s Eye’, first published in 1988.

“[…], the eyes large, nocturnal ̶”

— Margaret Atwood, from ‘Cat’s Eye’, first published in 1988. 

“I was unfair to him, of course, but where would I have been without unfairness? In thrall, in harness. Young women need unfairness, it’s one of their few defenses.”

— Margaret Atwood, from ‘Cat’s Eye’, first published in 1988.

“I bet you had a secret life. I bet it kept you going.”

— Margaret Atwood, from ‘The Blind Assassin’, first published in 2000.