“This was an all too familiar social scenario for me: standing alone, staring into the middle distance. It was absolutely fine. It was absolutely normal...I tried so hard, but something about me just didn’t fit. There was, it seemed, no Eleanor-shaped social hole for me to slot into. I wasn’t good at pretending, that was the thing.” For Eleanor, “After what had happened in that burning house, given what went on there, I could see no point in being anything other than truthful with the world. I had, literally, nothing left to lose. But by careful observation from the sidelines, I’d worked out that social success is often built on pretending just a little.” (chapter 71)
“...obviously, in principle and reality, libraries are life-enhancing palaces of wonder.” (chapter 94)
“Social interaction, it appeared, was surprisingly expensive. The travel, clothes, the drinks, the lunches, the gifts…” (Chatper 67).
When the sales clerk tries to persuade Eleanor to buy heels: “Why are these people so incredibly keen on crippling their female customers? I began to wonder if cobblers and chiropractors had established some fiendish cartel.” (67)
“He wasn’t using a knife, but was holding a fork in his right hand like a child or an American.” (61)
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