Quotes from David Foenkinos

Nu cuplurile sunt cele care se destrama; lumea si oamenii lasati deoparte sunt cei care, incetul cu incetul, castiga terenul cedat pe momentul iubirii.

Sa réaction était excessive. En défendant ainsi son territoire avec Markus, elle trahissait son trouble. Ce trouble qu'elle était toujours incapable de définir. Le Larousse s'arrête là où le cœur commence.

Vivimos sometidos a la tiranía de los deseos ajenos

Alice aurait pu se retrouver dans le roman d'un grand écrivain tchèque, mais elle a préféré être dans ma vie.

la contemplation de la beauté était un pansement sur la laideur. Il en avait toujours été ainsi. Quand il se sentait mal, il allait se promener dans un musée. Le merveilleux demeurait la meilleure arme contre la fragilité.

Las palabras no siempre necesitan un destino. Se les permite detenerse en las fronteras de las sensaciones.

as usual, she wasn't able to live in the moment. Maybe that's what grief is: a permanent disconnect from the here and now.

Could it be that they were sick enough at this point of their own lives to get worked up about those of others? That's always the case. We live under the dictates of others' desires. Natalie and François didn't want to become a TV series for their crowd. For the moment, they loved the idea of being two people alone in the world, in the most perfect cliché of romantic schmaltzy serenity.

When a man comes up to a woman he doesn't know, he's supposed to say lovely things. Could there ever be a male kamikaze who'd stop a woman and fling at her, "How can you be wearing those shoes? Your toes look like they're in a gulag. It's shameful, you're Stalin when it comes to your feet!" Who would say such a thing? Certainly not François, who'd wisely settled on the complimentary approach.

He was alone in the world, and the world was Natalie. Usually

elle était terriblement jalouse. Elle savait que c'était absurde, mais elle n'arrivait pas à se maîtriser, à avoir un comportement rationnel.

from Uppsala, a Swedish city that doesn't interest many people. Even the inhabitants of Uppsala* themselves are embarrassed; the name of their city sounds almost like an excuse. Sweden has the highest suicide rate in the world.

Moreover, as usual, she wasn't able to live in the moment. Maybe that's what grief is: a permanent disconnect from here and now. She looked at the games adults played and felt detached. It was easy to tell herself: "I'm not here.".

Quien está vivo y no puede con la vida necesita una mano que aparte un tanto la desesperación que le infunde su destino. KAFKA

Sous le coup de la colère on veut tout envoyer en l'air; et puis on aime encore, cela nous prend presque par surprise.

El diccionario Larousse termina ahí donde empieza el corazón"...

Readers always find themselves in a book, in one way or another. Reading is a completely egotistical pleasure. Unconsciously we expect books to speak to us. An author can write the most farfetched or implausible story ever, but there will still be readers who will still be readers who will say: 'I don't believe it: you wrote the story of my life!

According to him, it was not a question of liking or not liking to read, but of finding the book that was meant for you. Everybody could love reading, as long as they had the right book in their hands, a book that spoke to them, a book they could not bear to part with.

Tal es el privilegio de los artistas, dejar obras que le pongan obstáculos a la muerte.

La vida tiene una dimensión interior, con historias que no se materializan en la realidad, pero que no por ello dejamos de vivir.

Mais ce n'est pas grave de ne pas avoir de talent. Il faut simplement avoir le talent de le reconnaître.

Faced with her mother's mood swings, Charlotte is docile. She tames her melancholy. Is this how one becomes an artist? By growing accustomed to the madness of others?

Gibt es ihn, diesen Kamikaze-Mann, der eine Frau aufhalten würde, um ihr an den Kopf zu werfen: »Wie können Sie nur solche Schuhe tragen? Sie pferchen Ihre Zehen wie in einem Gulag zusammen. Sie sind der Stalin Ihrer Füße, eine Schande ist das!« Wer wäre zu so etwas fähig?

ce que l'on veut est moins important que ce que l'on peut avoir.