373 Quotes by Kate Atkinson

Ursula found it very odd to think that up above them there were German bombers being flown by men who, essentially, were just like Teddy. They weren’t evil, they were just doing what had been asked of them by their country. It was war itself that was evil, not men. Although she would make an exception for Hitler.

There was a strangeness in the shimmering air, a sense of imminence that made Ursula’s chest feel full, as if her heart was growing. It was a kind of high holiness – she could think of no other way of describing it. Perhaps it was the future, she thought, coming nearer all the time.

Life is too precious to be unhappy.

Gloria regretted that she wasn’t a knitter, she could be producing a useful garment while waiting for Graham to die.

That was the one thing June had been terrified of having – a standard life, an ordinary life, a life like her parents’ – living in a pink sandstone semi-detached villa in the suburbs with a neat garden and an en-suite master bedroom with fitted wardrobes.

If they would all sleep all the time she wouldn’t mind being their mother.

The man who was speaking had a degree in jargon and a doctorate in nonsense.

We’re all Bolsheviks now,” Izzie said blithely. “And at my table!” Hugh said and laughed.

Mum had worshipped Princess Di and frequently lamented her passing. “Gone,” she would say, shaking her head in disbelief. “Just like that. All that exercise for nothing.