“I was on the sidewalk, buffering, wondering if it was okay to follow people in real life.” — Olivia Sudjic Copy Share Image
“ Roses are like kamikaze love pilots. Roses are like suicide love bombers. ” — Olivia Sudjic Copy Share Image
“He had deduced also that I was quirky and promised me that he was too.” — Olivia Sudjic Copy Share Image
“If everything stays the same, it seems possible for someone to come back.” — Olivia Sudjic Copy Share Image
“Yes, I think he even has a title. He's like son and heir.' I turned her words over in my mind as… — Olivia Sudjic Copy Share Image
“I couldn't decide what kind of person she was, whether she was one of those insects that look exactly like wasps but… — Olivia Sudjic Copy Share Image
“The sensation that had plagued me after graduating, of being on the outside of some mystery, peeking in, returned.” — Olivia Sudjic Copy Share Image
“Tokyo was a place you could quite happily exist alone and be self-contained. It seemed to promise that it was better to… — Olivia Sudjic Copy Share Image
“But you'd hope anyone would feel sympathy if they actually saw someone face to face, pleading for a chance.” — Olivia Sudjic Copy Share Image
“Instantly I remembered everything I hated about him. But it was, in a way, comforting to know that he had not changed… — Olivia Sudjic Copy Share Image
“But I do not know the people I am crying for anymore. I don't let myself sympathise—I think it would be wrong.” — Olivia Sudjic Copy Share Image
“Waking in the morning, I had to remember grief all over again. It was sunny, a white winter sun, and that made… — Olivia Sudjic Copy Share Image
“We had, I felt, bared small pieces of our symmetrical souls to each other, fast, as if playing one of those breathless… — Olivia Sudjic Copy Share Image
“As I lay, a pink, dreamlike glow seeped into the room, gradually turning a bright, chemical red. The light inched towards the… — Olivia Sudjic Copy Share Image
“When he wasn't making quirky jokes about his mother like this—it happened more than once—he mainly spoke at me, about his job… — Olivia Sudjic Copy Share Image
“Since I've moved here a Chinese takeaway on the main street has ominiously renamed itself from whatever it was before to the… — Olivia Sudjic Copy Share Image
“I saw her note the way I hovered over the various ethnicities on the form. First the 'white' box, then to the… — Olivia Sudjic Copy Share Image
“Was this what the city would look like when knowledge was no longer enough? When the desire to turn inward, surrendering entirely… — Olivia Sudjic Copy Share Image
“She told me it was unlucky to share a reading with others, but the main point, the one I don't mind mentioning… — Olivia Sudjic Copy Share Image
“I know I only want him,' she said between sobs, the syllables all wrong, 'because he doesn't want me . How is… — Olivia Sudjic Copy Share Image
“That night I dreamt about the roses laid at the wrong feet—the feet of the nurse. Each bit of the dream was… — Olivia Sudjic Copy Share Image
“At first, sending the confession by real mail had felt like a genius device. I would not have to sit by my… — Olivia Sudjic Copy Share Image
“I hope when this is done I'll be able to get back into my happy gardening vibe that was so healthy for… — Olivia Sudjic Copy Share Image
“I also found it hard to accept the Mizuko I'd known in multiple miniatures was one physical person. I suppose it would… — Olivia Sudjic Copy Share Image
“Begin at the beginning. Know nothing. Tabula rasa. At the same time, part of me wanted to distinguish myself. To let her… — Olivia Sudjic Copy Share Image
“The city is tricky. The highs are so much higher, but in the lows you drop straight down again to bedrock. It… — Olivia Sudjic Copy Share Image
“My reflections amount to a love story that is mostly made up, from memories that are mostly false, between people who were… — Olivia Sudjic Copy Share Image
“There was an extravagant winter storm outside. The tinfoil sky flashed beyond the window, rattling in the frame, and once or twice… — Olivia Sudjic Copy Share Image
“My ability to make up lies on the spot chills me as much as it saves me.” — Olivia Sudjic Copy Share Image
“But I can't help thinking of the shock I felt when I finally realised it was winter, on exiting Mizuko's apartment. The… — Olivia Sudjic Copy Share Image
“The sharp, superficial pain at being spoken to unkindly had obscured the deeper pain, which had not yet turned into something hard… — Olivia Sudjic Copy Share Image
“I don't want to alarm anyone, but everywhere we go I see Alec Baldwin. It's like he's following us.” — Olivia Sudjic Copy Share Image
“Yes,' she said, her nod and smile so American and so misleading. 'You are not supposed to be here—you're supposed to be… — Olivia Sudjic Copy Share Image
“I felt the nauseous shiver in my stomach—everything from rage to empathy to morning sickness—that I had grown used to and now… — Olivia Sudjic Copy Share Image
