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Quotes from Down and Out in Purgatory: The Collected Stories of Tim Powers — Tim Powers

born 1952 United States

← All quotes by Tim Powers

10 quotes

“And you’ve never married.”
“I don’t know any women well enough to hate ’em that much.”

Down and Out in Purgatory: The Collected Stories of Tim Powers (2017)

Love isn’t in the category of normal things. Not any worthwhile kind of love, anyway.

Down and Out in Purgatory: The Collected Stories of Tim Powers (2017)

“Nolo contendere spelled backward is reincarnation.”
“Uh—no it’s not.”
“Yes it is. I heard it on the radio.”

Down and Out in Purgatory: The Collected Stories of Tim Powers (2017)

It always upset me to consider how thoroughly even the keenest-edged minds are at the mercy of hormones and such biological baggage. We are all indeed windowless gonads, as Leibniz nearly said.

Down and Out in Purgatory: The Collected Stories of Tim Powers (2017)

“There’s something you should know about me.”
“What’s that?”
“I don’t know, but you should know it.”

Down and Out in Purgatory: The Collected Stories of Tim Powers (2017)

“When did you…die?”
“I don’t know. Sometime besides now.”

Down and Out in Purgatory: The Collected Stories of Tim Powers (2017)

He always had to use holy water—real holy water, from gallon jugs he filled from the silver urn at St. Anne’s—but though it impressed the customers, all he could see that it actually did was get stuff wet.

Down and Out in Purgatory: The Collected Stories of Tim Powers (2017)

You protect the ones you love. He clung to the thought. Even if they ignorantly resent you for it.

Down and Out in Purgatory: The Collected Stories of Tim Powers (2017)

“Solipsism,” said Felise. “I thought that too, for a while, but it was so obvious that my cat didn’t think so, didn’t think I was the only thing in the universe, that I decided it wasn’t true.”

Down and Out in Purgatory: The Collected Stories of Tim Powers (2017)

Biscuit sighed and lifted from the mantle the glass box with Grandpa Coldharp’s oracular penny in it. It was an Indian head penny, minted in 1909, and when the box was shaken the penny bounced around inside but always came up heads; the family tradition was that you could ask it any question, as long as the answer was yes.

Down and Out in Purgatory: The Collected Stories of Tim Powers (2017)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Tim Powers (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.