The Rum Diary Quotes
"I thought you in my heart, When I bought your fine clothes, A man the world could not slay." - Dark Eileen O'Connell, 1773
"I shared a vagrant optimism that some of us were making real progress, that we had taken an honest road, and that the best of us would inevitably make it over the top."
"It was the tension between these two poles — a restless idealism on one hand and a sense of impending doom on the other — that kept me going."
"I made some interesting friends, had enough money to get around, and learned a lot about the world that I could never have learned in any other way."
"Like most of the others, I was a seeker, a mover, a malcontent, and at times a stupid hell-raiser."
"It's the tropic rot — this constant sexless drinking! It's driving me wild — I'm cracking up!"
"I harbor a secret urge to whack a salesman in the face, crack his teeth and put red bumps around his eyes."
"I wanted to cable them all — Come quick stop plenty of room in the rum barrel stop no work stop big money stop drink all day stop hump all night stop hurry it may not last."
"I had a feeling that my reserve was running low."
"A man can live on his wits and his balls for only so long."
"We’re just drunkards, he said, helpless drunkards. To hell with it — I’ll go back to some Godforsaken little town and be a fireman."
"I told him I would, but first I had to borrow a meat-whip from the kitchen."
"I’m not much on consistency, he said, talking easily again."
"If I had a Luger, I thought, I could drill the bastards."
"Enjoy it while you can, Sanderson replied. You won’t be out for long."
"You’re an inconsistent bastard — that’s the last thing I’d expect to hear from you."
"Somehow they got the idea that by getting the hell away from where they were they could find something better."
"The day I have to duck a punk like that I’ll toss in the towel."
"Nothing happens until somebody sells something."
"A real writer, eh? I guess that means trouble."
"You’ll get like old Robert — always going to take off manana."
"You’re hooked. First a job, then a car — pretty soon you’ll get married and settle in for good."
"I’ll know when to take off. When you get to be a working pro, then come back and tell me how to manage my life."
"We’re all fuck-ups anyway — except that I’m a pro."
"You’re just a whore. I knew it the first time I saw her."
"We keep getting drunk and these terrible things keep happening and each one is worse than the last."
"She’s part nigger, he replied, in a tone that was not soft."
"I knew something like that would happen — didn’t I tell you?"
"It’s no fun anymore — our luck’s all running out at the same time."
"I’m not good, I said on my way back to the kitchen. Just a little confused."
"What the hell are you going to do, Chenault? What can you do?"
"You better start thinking, I said. Your days are numbered here."
"It was a hot night, with almost no breeze, but I was feeling cold sweat in my hair."
"I’m tired of being a punk — a human suckfish."
"I laughed at her. That’s the combination a good suckfish looks for — avoid the big belly at all costs."
"I’m drunk and nuts both — no hope for me, is there?"
"Sounds of a San Juan night, drifting across the city through layers of humid air."
"The sooner I could get her out of here, the better."
"I felt melancholy, so I decided to go swimming."
"I took a quick step around the table and swung like he was throwing a baseball."