“Happiness needs nothing but itself; it doesn't have to be validated. Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” — Herman Koch Copy Share Image
“We looked at each other. At that moment, I was also a hundred percent sure that Van Dieren and I were thinking the same… — Herman Koch Copy Share Image
“Some people might say it's not smart to be so insecure about what you wear. But that's not how I see it. The stupid… — Herman Koch Copy Share Image
“… when Michel came home from school, for example, and everything was as it should be. My own voice, above all, asking him what he wanted in his sandwich, also sounded as it should have. The larder was full, I had done all of the shopping that morning. I took care of myself as well, I looked in the mirror… — Herman Koch Copy Share
“They all had to do something: they had to make a start in life; they had to go through life. Even though a single… — Herman Koch Copy Share Image
In one way or another, every parent is curious what their children... what are they doing when we don't see?... What double lives are… — Herman Koch Copy Share Image
“Life as a widow, she thinks, will always be like this. The friends will go on proposing toasts for months (for years!). To her.… — Herman koch Copy Share Image
“The smile remained suspended on her face, but it was as though it had been disconnected from the emotion behind it – if there… — Herman Koch Copy Share Image
“I let go of the pump as well now. I registered a sense of fatigue. And regret. It was the same fatigue and regret… — Herman Koch Copy Share Image
“Is it life threatening?” they asked. They said it slightly sotto voce, but you could hear the thirst for sensation right through it: when… — Herman Koch Copy Share Image
