1. “Normally seven minutes of another person’s company was enough to give her a headache so she set things up to live as a recluse. She was perfectly content as long as people left her in peace. Unfortunately society was not very smart or understanding.”
2. “He comes off a little like Practical Pig in The Three Little Pigs.”
3. “What she had realized was that love was that moment when your heart was about to burst.”
4. “It doesn’t matter how good the enemy’s weapons are. If he can’t see you, he can’t hit you. Cover, cover, cover. Make sure you’re never exposed.”
5. “Impulsive actions led to trouble, and trouble could have unpleasant consequences.”
6. “No, I don’t believe in God, but I respect the fact that you do. Everyone has to have something to believe in.”
7. “she really just wanted his company. She wanted to hear him say that he liked her for who she was. That she was someone special in his world and in his life. She wanted him to give her some gesture of love, not just of friendship and companionship.”
8. “I’ve had many enemies over the years. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s never engage in a fight you’re sure to lose. On the other hand, never let anyone who has insulted you get away with it. Bide your time and strike back when you’re in a position of strength – even if you no longer need to strike back.”
9. “There’s always someone willing to believe malicious rumours.”
10. “That I would have to be totally insane to stop seeing you just because you’re going to leave one day”
11. “She’s married. I’m more a friend and occasional lover.”
12. “Then I discovered that being related is no guarantee of love and I had few reasons to defend Harald.”
13. “It did no good to cry, she had learned that early on. She had also learned that every time she tried to make someone aware of something in her life, the situation just got worse. Consequently it was up to her to solve her problems by herself, using whatever methods she deemed necessary.”
14. “She did not just seem difficult – in his eyes she was the very quintessence of difficult.”
15. “Don’t exaggerate. Just give your natural bitchy selves full rein”
16. “Friendship- my definition- is built on two things. Respect and trust. Both elements have to be there. And it has to be mutual. You can have respect for someone, but if you don’t have trust, the friendship will crumble.”
17. “I fell in love with you last winter. I didn’t mean to, but it happened. And then I took stock and realised that you were only here temporarily; one day you’ll be gone for good and I’ll stay here for the rest of my life. It hurt so damn much that I decided I wasn’t going to let you in again…”
18. “Taking away a person’s control of her own life – meaning her bank account – is one of the greatest infringements a democracy can impose,”
19. “It would be deplorable if the special interests had the power to silence those voices in the media that they find uncomfortable.”
20. “Keep in mind that I’m crazy, won’t you?”
21. “She was perfectly content as long as people left her in peace.”
22. “I can still remember the unexpectedness of The Girl with the Dragon”
23. “come much colder”
24. “I spent the first twenty-five years of my life apologizing for people like Harald because we’re family. Then I discovered that being related is no guarantee of love and I had a few reasons to defend Harald.”
25. “One more man who hates women,” she muttered at last.”
26. “Women disappear all the time. Nobody misses them. Immigrants. Whores from Russia. Thousands of people pass through Sweden every year.”
27. “People always have secrets. It’s just a matter of finding out what they are.”
28. “There was a whole army of people who seemed not to have anything better to do than to try to disrupt her life, and , if they were given the opportunity, to correct the way she had chosen to live it.”
29. “Isn’t it fascinating that Nazis always manage to adopt the word freedom?”
30. “Everyone has secrets. It’s just a matter of finding out what they are.”
31. “Sometimes they were together so often that it felt as though they really were a couple; sometimes weeks and months would go by before they saw each other. But even as alcoholics are drawn to the state liquor store after a stint on the wagon, they always came back to each other.”
32. “I’m aware of what you’ve done for me, and I’m not ungrateful. I appreciate that you actually showed yourself to be greater than your prejudices and have given me a chance here. But I don’t want you for my lover, and you’re not my father.”
33. “It did no good to cry, she had learned that early on.”
34. “Calling attention to crimes can hardly be considered an indication that someone is left-wing.”
35. “We need to have a talk on the subject of what’s yours and what’s mine.”
36. “There is nothing to talk about” she said. “I’m just a freak that’s all.”
37. “He often wondered whether it were possible to be more possessed by
38. “Because it’s so easy,” he said. “Women disappear all the time. Nobody misses them. Immigrants. Whores from Russia. Thousands of people pass through Sweden every year.”
39. “Friendship—my definition—is built on two things,” he said. “Respect and trust. Both elements have to be there. And it has to be mutual. You can have respect for someone, but if you don’t have trust, the friendship will crumble.”
40. “You mean that your buddy was lying?”
41. “She’s married. I’m more a friend and occasional lover.”
