“ Kissing her just then felt perfectly normal and completely self-explanatory, the only possible course of action. Tom Perrotta
“ It felt like religious kitsch, as tacky as a black velvet painting, the kind of fantasy that appealed to people who ate too much fried food, spanked their kids, and had no problem with the theory that… Tom Perrotta
“ I'm halfway through my life, and as far as I can tell, the real lesson of the past isn't that I made some mistakes, it's that I didn't make nearly enough of them. I doubt I'll be lying on my deathbed… Tom Perrotta
“ I think there have been a lot of writers who’ve been experimenting lately with really sprawling novels that will deal with a number of different characters and different points on the globe. I underst… Tom Perrotta
“ Abstinence is perfectly reasonable in theory, Gregory said, It just doesn't work in practice. It's like dieting. You can go a day or two, maybe even a week. But eventually that pizza just smells too g… Tom Perrotta
“ Laurie herself was more focused on the years when her kids were little, when she felt so necessary and purposeful, a battery all charged up with love. Every day she used it up and every night it got m… Tom Perrotta
“ Us, Will had invited his camp counselor buddy, Dylan, and Dylan had brought along his roommate, this annoying kid named Sanjay. I mean, it wasn’t like there was anything wrong with Sanjay, and no, I’m… Tom Perrotta
“ Thinking how good it was to be free, away from the baby and from Tom, too, the two people who couldn’t help reminding her of everything that had gone wrong, and what a fool she’d been. Tom Perrotta
“ That’s what privilege is—the license to treat other people like shit while still getting to believe that you’re a good person. Tom Perrotta
“ You talk to them. And look at their faces. Cows have very expressive faces.I knew her well enough at that point not to be surprised by this. The first few months we'd worked together, I'd found her di… Tom Perrotta
“ We’re agnostics, she used to tell her kids, back when they were little and needed a way to define themselves to their Catholic and Jewish and Unitarian friends. We don’t know if there’s a God, and nob… Tom Perrotta
“ They were good listeners, worldly yet easily shocked, hungry for details, curious and nonjudgmental at the same time, always happy to give advice, but only if it was requested. Tom Perrotta
“ There's not some finite amount of pain inside us. Our bodies and minds just keep manufacturing more of it. (67) Tom Perrotta
“ Stan and Rudy are grown men. It's too late to shape their minds, to teach them values and a sense of compassion. You have to do that when kids are young, before their personalities harden and they com… Tom Perrotta
“ Sarah smelled chocolate on Lucy's breath as she leaned forward to plant a soft kiss on the tip of her cute little nose. A vision came to her as her lips touched Lucy's skin, a sudden vivid awareness o… Tom Perrotta
“ Not that they would, but if any of the other mothers had asked how it was that Sarah, of all people, had ended up married, living in the suburbs, and caring full-time for a small child, she would have… Tom Perrotta
“ It's not the cheating. It's the hunger for an alternative. The refusal to accept unhappiness. Tom Perrotta
“ It's a bad dream: my English teacher is standing naked at the foot of this slightly lumpy bed, clutching a pair of not-quite-white underpants in his hand, studying me with this creepy look on his face… Tom Perrotta
“ It felt good, the whole family together on a sunny morning in a wholesome environment. If it hadn't been for the warshiping God part, he would have happily attended church on a regular basis. Tom Perrotta
