Quotes from Carlos Ruiz Zafon

promises were a bit like hearts: once the first was broken, breaking the rest was a piece of cake.

Habrá advertido que no tenemos electricidad, Óscar. Lo cierto es que no creemos demasiado en los adelantos de la ciencia moderna. Al fin y al cabo, ¿qué clase de ciencia es esa, capaz de poner un hombre en la Luna pero incapaz de poner un pedazo de pan en la mesa de cada ser humano? —A lo mejor el problema no está en la ciencia, sino en quiénes deciden cómo emplearla —sugerí.

Hubo un tiempo en que yo también fui joven y en el que hice todo aquello que se espera que hagan los jóvenes: casarse, tener hijos, contraer deudas, decepcionarse y renunciar a los sueños y principios que uno siempre juró respetar.

An intellectual is some one who isn't exactly distinguished by his intellect. He claims that label to compensates for his inadequacies.

El espectro de asesinatos, luchas y conspiraciones llevaba años corroyendo el alma de la ciudad, pero aun así, muchos querían creer que la guerra seguía lejos, que era un temporal que pasaría de largo.

We must now confont out destiny. Each to his own. We're all adults now aren't we? Do you know what maturity means Ben? Let your father explain. Maturity is simply the process of discovering that everything you believed in when you were young is false and that all the things you refused to believe in turn out to be true.

Learning how to differentiate between why one does things and why one says one does them is the first step toward getting to know oneself. And from there to no longer being a cretin, there's still quite a way to go.

Three heads think better than two, especially if the third one is mine.

Never underestimate a writer's vanity, especially that of a mediocre writer. (The Angel's Game)

Pocas cosas marcan tanto a un lector como el primer libro que realmente se abre camino hasta su corazón.

God?gi sakot, es par sieviet?m neko daudz nezinu. - Zin?t nezina neviens: ne Freids, ne ar? vi?s pašas, bet tas ir t?pat k? ar elektr?bu, nevajag zin?t, k? t? darbojas, lai dab?tu pa pirkstiem.

A bit of exercise lifts the spirit. (The Angel's Game)

Él solía decir que existimos mientras alguien nos recuerda.

Todos temos um segredo trancado a sete chaves no sótão da alma.

We still have a lot of history to live through, Daniel, and what awaits us is no longer child's play. Are you with me? To that end of the world, which, for all we know, might only be around the corner?

Aqui estão as lembranças de centenas de pessoas, suas vidas, seus sentimentos, suas ilusões, sua ausência, os sonhos que nunca conseguiram realizar, as decepções, os enganos e os amores não correspondidos que envenenaram suas vidas... Tudo isso está aqui, preso para sempre.

Alicia was already walking down the street when the shop assistant stuck his head out of the door and called out, "Miss? You haven't told me your name ..." Alicia turned around and there Bonito a smile that left its mark on him all day and part of the night.

Fermin hung up the phone and went back to the waiting room. Fernandito watched him anxiously. "Who were you talking to?" "To common sense.

El imbécil o cafre no se para a pensar ni a razonar. Actúa por instinto, como bestia de establo, convencido de que hace el bien, de que siempre tiene la razón y orgulloso de ir jodiendo

Acho que o problema não está na ciência, mas naqueles que decidem como empregá-la.

Me vi entonces a mí mismo a través de sus ojos; apenas un muchacho transparente que creía haber ganado el mundo en una hora y que todavía no sabía que podía perderlo en un minuto.

Sempre dizia que os seres humanos deixavam a vida passar como se fossem viver para sempre e que isso era a sua perdição.

Una puerta no tiene principio ni fin, tan solo puertas de entrada.

Alicia was already walking down the street when the shop assistant stuck his head out of the door and called out, "Miss? You haven't told me your name ..." Alicia turned around and threw Bonito a smile that left its mark on him all day and part of the night.