The Escape Artist Quotes
"I believe every book is born from a need, and it was this book that helped me realize the difference between being alive and actually living."
"With every book, a few people become so vital to the process it’s as if their souls get poured into these pages."
"Even when you’re ready for it, nothing sneaks up on you like grief."
"Humans have a unique odor. For the dead, it was even more unmistakable, a mix of sweetness and rotting fish."
"In every life, whatever you do, you either destroy or create."
"No matter how fat, thin, tall, or short you are—for every single one of us—all our organs fit in a one-pound bucket."
"This was the pain he was dreading. Even when you’re ready for it, nothing sneaks up on you like grief."
"Outside, a lone honeybee bounced off the window, swirling in the moonlight."
"They were the only ones to actually leave the hive, the ones on the grand adventure."
"They’d literally work themselves to death, dying alone."
"No one’s life is as good as it looks on Facebook."
"Maybe the hokey-pokey really was what it’s all about."
"You treat every steak like a prom date. You take care of it, it’ll take care of you."
"When you lose a parent, you’re an orphan. When you lose a husband, you’re a widow. But when you lose a child, they don’t have a name for that."
"Gore you get used to. Shattered lives you don’t."
"Replication brought acclimation; he’d been through this before."
"In those final frantic moments, her friend wasn’t worrying about her own death, or even herself. She was worrying about Nola."
"Nola can absorb and recreate a crime scene in a moment."
"Call her whatever you want, but trust me on this: Nola Brown isn’t a pet. She’s a gun. A weapon."
"That little pocket right…there? That’s me crushing your trachea."
"With the right lever, you can move anything. Including an elephant."
"You don’t have a kid. I looked you up. You’re about to be kicked out of the truth factory."
"Life is just a party, and parties weren’t meant to last."
"Art doesn’t exist in your head. It exists when you express it."
"The world eats the weak; hit the hyenas before they feast."
"If you really want to change the world, start by making your bed."
"In the world of secret squirrels, medals for valor were for bravery."
"Just because you're not dead doesn't mean you're alive."
"The perfect accessory for an eighty-year-old magician."
"When it comes to real loss, it never leaves someone's face."
"I like parks. Plus, I like knowing who's sniffing after me."
"When it comes to magic, do you know how many tricks there are? There are four."
"You tell me two more lies, Mr. Zigarowski, this conversation's over."
"You can tell a lot about a person by how they treat their dog."
"When I stand there at his funeral...this is a story only I can tell."
"The worst of it was last night, when she manipulated him into going to her office just to see who would follow."
"The deepest wounds—they heal, but they never disappear."
"Girls shouldn’t be walking around in wifebeater tank tops."
"When someone gives you a present, say thank you."
"For the rest of her life, Nola would come back to this moment, relishing it, thinking about it, replaying it in her head."
"Nola, there’s something in everyone that’s beautiful. Your job is to unlock it."
"I want him," she decided, pulling Dooch close, into a hug.
"This is for making me drink that shitty coffee."
"Your job is to unlock it. That sounds like a yoga quote, but it’s gospel."
"Horatio, he's the one. That's who Houdini reports to—the real string-puller behind Operation Bluebook."
"When it’s winter in the Middle East, fighting season winds down, so there are fewer casualties among our troops."
"If you have something to say, just say it, Mr. Zigarowski."
"Stay out of sight. Don’t let them know you’re coming."
"The world isn’t perfect. Why do folks think it is?"
"When you dig yourself into a hole, you dig yourself out."
"To protect national security, the CIA would regularly mask the names of Dover victims so that agents and sources weren’t revealed."
"You never change—You're a monster—! A murderer!"
"Drop your gun! Drop it, or I swear I'll shoot you again!"
"You're making assumptions, Nola. Like I said, I'm not the man I used to be."
"You're a fungus—you infect everything you touch."
"Indeed, the more mundane your closing chapter is, the luckier you'll likely be."
"You’re not dead... You’re not underground; there’s no dirt on your face."
"It’s time to live again. It’s the one trick Houdini could never pull off. But you can."
"There are many ways to live. It’s one of the few things they never teach you at mortician school."
"Sometimes you need to bury your old life—and make a new one."
"Wonderful creatures, committed to their mission."
"With each swing—each impact—it was harder for Zig to breathe."
"If the trocar were a baseball bat, Zig would be dead."