Quotes by Lydia Davis

“There seemed to be three choices: to give up trying to love anyone, to stop being selfish, or to learn to love a person while continuing to be selfish.”

“I can talk for a long time only when it's about something boring.”

“Just as it is hard for us, in our garden, to stop weeding, because there is always another weed there in front of us, it may be hard for her to stop grazing, because there are always a few more sho...”

“She is bending over her child. She cant leave her. Thechild is laid out in state on a table. She wants to take one more photograph of the child, probably the last. In life, the child would never si...”

“The fact that he does not tell me the truth all the time makes me not sure of his truth at certain times, and then I work to figure out for myself if what he is telling me is the truth or not, and ...”

“As long as everything stayed the same, it seemed possible for him to come back. As long as everything was the way he had left it, his place was open for him. But if things changed beyond a certain ...”

“It is the lowered head that makes her seem less noble than, say, a horse, or a deer surprised in the woods. More exactly, it is her lowered head and neck. As she stands still, the top of her head i...”

“They do sometimes protest...At these times, she sounds authoritative. But she has no authority.”

“She knows she is in Chicago. But she does not yet realize that she is in Illinois.”

“If you think of something, do it.Plenty of people often think, “I’d like to do this, or that.”

“No one is calling me. I can’t check the answering machine because I have been here all this time. If I go out, someone may call while I’m out. Then I can check the answering machine when I come bac...”

“This dull, difficult novel I have brought with me on my trip—I keep trying to read it. I have gone back to it so many times, each time dreading it and each time finding it no better than the last t...”

“She is bending over her child. She can’t leave her. Thechild is laid out in state on a table. She wants to take one more photograph of the child, probably the last. In life, the child would never s...”