201 Quotes by Nicola Griffith

As I moved past the big houses shrouded by dripping trees I fought the urge to look over my shoulder. Looking back would frighten her. I told myself there was nothing unusual about a woman walking the streets at midnight-I did it-but my hindbrain was stirring.

It pleases me to wear silk couture and pearls. I like the way it feels on my skin, the way it fits.

I have a strange kind of face; people trust me. More than that, they see in my face what they want to be there.

I wanted to know about the woman who thought this was something I had done, but I wasn’t in any particular hurry. Let her come to me.

I always ask for as much as I can get. It’s a matter of principle.

We shook hands. My mother showed me a dozen different handshakes. This is the one that means I don’t think you’re worth my attention: a quick shake, with her hand already sliding from mine before it was properly finished. This one shows I hold you in great contempt: a snakelike up and down, bending at the wrist, fingers stiff as though she couldn’t wait to shake off my sweat. There were others. Cordova was a mixture of reserve and haste: fast, light, and whippy.

The air is as thick as potato soup and you have to breathe in sips.

Guns can be a distraction, a dangerous focus of one’s authority, a crutch. Many come to depend on them: take away the gun and you take away their identity.

There is one thing Margaret Thatcher said that I agree with: if you have to tell people you’re important, you’re not.