Anat Talshir Quotes & Sayings

He did not like perfumed women. He was, after all, a man of hints, of mere suggestions of aromas, something that reaches the nose, then slips away at once, returning and disappearing with each light breeze. He kept his distance from smells that forced themselves on him, proclaiming their presence. He was intrigued by scents that made him search after them, preferring the concealed and the veiled to the pronounced and prominent. — Anat Talshir

Afterward, he would leave her, and he would go to sleep in his own home. "It's hard to understand," he would tell Lila whenever she would press his gently on the subject, "but with us Arabs, a man can come and go, and his wife will not say a word. She'll notice the length of his absences, but she won't press him or ask for explanations. For his part, so long as he acts modestly and doesn't show off his lover in plain view, then he will not bring shame on his family. — Anat Talshir

Lila realized that looking after the girl dispelled any fears of her own, which is how people who have to save their children must feel. When you are looking after someone, your own fear shrinks. The — Anat Talshir

What is it about tea that attracts you?" she asked. "Its taste evokes memories," he said. "The feeling of something familiar that you've already experienced but not yet tasted." Even — Anat Talshir

Afterward, he would leave her, and he would go to sleep in his own home. "It's hard to understand," he would tell Lila whenever she would press his gently on the subject, "but with us Arabs, a man can come and go, and his wife will not say a word. She'll notice the length of his absences, but she won't press him or ask for explanations. For his part, so long as he acts modestly and doesn't show off his lover in plain view, then he will not bring shame on his family. — Anat Talshir

[Our children] walk among us like mirrors, our X-rays. In them we see what we love but also what we'd like to forget about ourselves. Our shortcomings are forever enshrined. — Anat Talshir

The wife carries the burden of the marriage on her shoulders," his mother said. "Her husband, herself, both of them, their covenant, and everything else that gets added over the years. And all that is very, very heavy. It is in her power to keep the marriage alive and thriving, but also to drive it to the brink of crisis and back again. For whatever reason, men have not taken this role upon themselves. Perhaps they are not capable. Now, as you know, every empty space, every abyss created in nature fills itself, and this one is filled by women out of a sense of responsibility and maybe also the will to control. It's a simple matter, really, but in case you haven't understood, I'll explain it: your wife must be happy, satisfied, fulfilled, and impassioned, and then the burden of marriage will not be heavy for her. She'll be prepared to take it upon herself for better and for worse until the very day that one of you shuts your eyes for good. — Anat Talshir

it was clear that the invisible line had been crossed, the line where on one side stood potential and doubt and the putting out of feelers that could be revoked at any moment and on the other stood strong emotion, complicit smiles, and a romantic connection that exists on its own and has a presence that cannot be ignored. The world was no longer the way it was before this connection came into existence. — Anat Talshir

Sometimes rebuffing him was a difficult, but this evening Margo whispered something about the prohibition on sex during the Yom Kippur holiday--as if they were a family of rabbis!--and he gave in and turned on his side. Rejected and repelled, he would fall into his nighttime sleep; in just a few moments she would hear that sound she hated, the heavy breathing that would rise to his nostrils and turn into a saw-like din, and Margo would wonder whether to shake him or let him be. If she awaken him, there was a chance he might start probing all over again; if she let him snore, he would disrupt her thinking, and she would not be able to give herself over to the brilliant idea she had come up with while staring in the mirror. — Anat Talshir

The Jews are pioneers; they are always the ones to change the face of the world. — Anat Talshir

His mother asked, "And when is a marriage successful?" He had the feeling she was about to provide the answer, the very answer that people the world over were searching for. And he was right. "When the wife loves the husband," Nadira told him. "Not just loves him, but is crazy about him! Only then. — Anat Talshir

The waiter at the King David brought her change, and, in his eyes, his condolences for the meeting that had not taken place. For five hours he had watched her sit in a garden chair, straight-backed and full of anticipation, until hope had abandoned her and she slumped, weary. — Anat Talshir

He was charming, but he did not slather his charm around in great quantities. He merely drizzled it. — Anat Talshir

...hope nourishes while loss empties a person out," he said.... "Lila, my love, my love,...lay down your weapons. Don't punish us because I told myself a different story than the one you told yourself. — Anat Talshir

Nobody can bring peace here. It's not something you can import from America. It has to come from this place, from the people." "If — Anat Talshir