Цитаты из книги Уроки химии

Уже в седьмой раз на этой неделе кто-то, не утерпев, сообщал, что в ее жизни грядут перемены, и ей это уже изрядно надоело. Она потеряла работу, перспективу заниматься наукой, контроль над мочевым пузырем, возможность видеть пальцы ног, спокойный сон, гладкую кожу, здоровую спину, не говоря уже о многом другом, что небеременные воспринимают как должное: например, комфортное положение за рулем автомобиля. А что приобрела? Только массу тела.

Just as people have a bad habit of dismissing others' problems and tragedies, so too did they have a bad habit of not appreciating what they have. Or had.

I'm an atheist. Actually, a humanist. But I have to admit, some days the human race makes me sick.

Imagine if all men took women seriously. Education would change. The workforce would revolutionize. Marriage counselors would go out of business.

If there's a truism in journalism, it's this: it's only when the reporter stops asking that the subject starts telling.

Say what you want about the human race, their capacity for kindness was what—in Six-Thirty's opinion—put them over the top, species-wise.

"I don't have hopes. I have faith."

"Well, that's a funny word to hear coming from you."

"How come?"

"Because, well, you know. Religion is based on faith."

"But you realize that faith isn't based on religion. Right?"

"Plenty of people don't believe in God. Some believe in astrology or tarot cards. Harriet believes if you blow on dice, you'll get better numbers at Yahtzee".

"I think we both know that God is just a bit different from Yahtzee."

"Agreed. Yahtzee is fun."

Not that there was anything wrong with being unattractive. She was unattractive and she knew it. She also knew that Calvin Evans was unattractive, and the sloppy dog Elizabeth brought home one day was unattractive, and there was a good chance Elizabeth’s future baby would be unattractive, too. But none of them were—or would ever be—ugly. Only Mr. Sloane was ugly, and that was because he was unattractive on the inside.

That's the hydrogen bond for you, ladies— a chemical reminder that if things seem too good to be true, they probably are.

On the other hand, wasn't that the very definition of life? Constant adaptations brought about by a series of never-ending mistakes?

There's nothing average about the average housewife.

She knew being mad at him was unfair, but grief is like that: arbitrary.

Like most stupid people, Mr. Sloane wasn't smart enough to know just how stupid he was.

It's just that we tend to treat pregnancy as the most common condition in the world—as ordinary as stubbing a toe—when the truth is, it's like getting hit by a truck. Although obviously a truck causes less damage.

People often underestimate what a pregnant woman is capable of, but people always underestimate what a grieving pregnant woman is capable of.

Life wasn't a hypothesis one could test and retest without consequence—something always crashed eventually.

Humans, Six-Thirty noticed, had a tendency to overcomplicate.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t function without her, but rather that he didn’t see the point of functioning without her.

People will always yearn for a simple solution to their complicated problems. It's a lot easier to have faith in something you can't see, can't touch, can't explain, and can't change, rather than to have faith in something you actually can.