Quotes from Alison Lurie

and said so. Their initial impressions of each other were

Not for the first time, he wonders why it is that married couples feel perfectly free to analyze the affairs of their unmarried friends; whereas if he were to make some comment on Joe and Debby's relationship they would be righteously pissed-off.

Now you have more knowledge of yourself and the world; you are equipped to make choices, but there are none left to make.

You get into the habit of being angry and hurt by life, and then when something good happens you can't accept it because it doesn't fit the pattern.

There's a rule, I think. You get what you want in life, but not your second choice too.

Real literature, like travel, is always a surprise.

If nothing will finally survive of life besides what artists report of it, we have no right to report what we know to be lies.

There is a peculiar burning odor in the room, like explosives. the kitchen fills with smoke and the hot, sweet, ashy smell of scorched cookies. The war has begun.

We can lie in the language of dress or try to tell the truth; but unless we are naked and bald, it is impossible to be silent.

The fashion industry is no more able to preserve a style that men and women have decided to abandon than to introduce one they do not choose to accept.

As one went to Europe to see the living past, so one must visit Southern California to observe the future.