David Ebershoff Quotes & Sayings

There was a terrible stretch of time in Einar's life - from the time Hans left Bluetooth until the day he met Greta at the academy - when he lived without anyone to reveal his secrets to. Lili could remember that, the feeling of biting down on one's thoughts and feelings and storing them up for no one. — David Ebershoff

Last year when my grandma fell and broke her hip she couldn't paint her toenails anymore. So my grandpa started doing it for her, even after he fell and broke his hip, too. For me, that's love. — David Ebershoff

What do I consider myself now? A man attempting to be good. In this endeavor I have no use for church and steeple. If another man does, I only wish he finds what he needs. — David Ebershoff

And wasn't that the inexhaustible struggle for Greta? Her perpetual need to be alone but always loved, and in love. — David Ebershoff

Anna's voice wasn't a beautiful voice - rough edged and sorrowful, a bit used, somehow male and female at once. Yet it had more vibrancy to it than most Danish voices, which were often thin and white and too pretty to trigger a shiver. Anna's voice had the heat of the south; it warmed Einar, as if her throat were red with coals. — David Ebershoff

I wish I could claim I faced my first day of apostasy with courage and certainty. Yet in truth, I had never felt more afraid. — David Ebershoff

Don't believe everything you read. — David Ebershoff

Upon the exposure of his bribery, it is reported he said, I should have paid more. — David Ebershoff

Faith, I tell them, is a mystery, elusive to many, and never easy to explain. — David Ebershoff

There is nothing more alarming to a boy than seeing a mother, or a father, buckling. It says to him that all will not be well. The boy does not know this, but he senses it, as a dog senses it, as a dog sense his master's true state of mind. (Lorenzo Dee) — David Ebershoff

Einar felt lonely, and he wondered if anybody in the world would ever know him. — David Ebershoff

You will loose everything"
"I already have. — David Ebershoff

When my mom pulled the trigger my dad had a full house, three fives and a pair of ducks. He was all in. The paper says although dead, he ended up winning seven grand. I once heard someone on tv say we die as we lived. That sounds about right. — David Ebershoff

Do you know what I miss most about Rosemary? Simply knowing she was there. — David Ebershoff

I trust you have seen the ocean. If you have, then you have witnessed the divine. How barren the ground is in comparison! If I could count the hours I have spent staring out at it! And yet those hours never feel lost. I cannot imagine how else I could refill them were I given a second chance. — David Ebershoff

Isn't it interesting what a stranger can offer? A little wisdom, a little mercy, a little love. — David Ebershoff

Yes, but if I were to look down there what would I see?"
"Don't think about it like that," Greta said. "That's not the only thing that makes you Lili. — David Ebershoff

I write not for sensation, but for Truth. I leave judgement to the hearts of my good Readers everywhere. — David Ebershoff

Love and trust are Siamese twins, as conjoined as Chang and Eng. — David Ebershoff

I, of course, cherish my freedom, but I shall never want my freedom to restrict the freedom of another. In that case then I am not truly free, and none of us is truly free. — David Ebershoff

My duty, I know, is to lead. I cannot offer an array of options. I must offer a long but narrow path to Salvation, and guide the Saints down it. Were that path wide and varied, it would lead nowhere; and I will then have failed both God and man. — David Ebershoff

Anywhere the devout gather to worship, there will always be a parade. — David Ebershoff

Isn't a gay Mormon like an oxymoron?'
'Do I look like an oxymoron to you?'
'An oxymormon. — David Ebershoff

The agony of martyrdom is almost too much to bear. In the early hours, when the loss is fresh, there is no comfort in knowing Glory will live on. We speak of the martyrs in History but we cannot know the actual pain they suffered in their final living hours. They enter the realm of the mythic, but we must never forget these were men like ourselves. When their flesh is torn, they cry out. They suffer as you or I would suffer, although more bravely. Remember Christ. Although I am now an enemy to Joseph's legacy, I shudder when recalling his pain. — David Ebershoff

I suppose my greatest disappointment has been realizing my father, like Joseph and Brigham before him, tried to shroud his passions in the mantle of religion. He used God to defend his adultery.
Ann Eliza Young, page 253 — David Ebershoff

I know someone loves me from how they say my name. Like with my mom and dad, when they say "Benjamin" it's like my name is safe in their mouth. — David Ebershoff