dialogue prompts from trust by hernan diaz.
there's nothing more conspicuous than anonymity.
you've been so brave. you've done so well.
i've never been away from home this long.
what matters is the tally of our accomplishments, not the tales about us.
denial is always a form of confirmation.
self-interest need not be divorced from the common good.
no investment pays higher dividends than education.
i feel like i've always known you.
generosity is the mother of ingratitude.
i know what a man with bad news looks like.
there can be great honor in defeat.
a selfish hand has a short reach.
it's never been so easy to get rich.
the worst literature is always written with the best intentions.
i didn't choose to leave. i was forced out.
i have no country. i don't want one.
the root of all evil, the cause of every war: god and country.
i don't like marxists, but marx....
fictions are supposed to be harmless, aren't they?
fiction, harmless? look at religion.
there's no reward for being reliable or obedient.
the closer one is to a source of power, the quieter it gets.
the story you made up for yourself is very convincing.
i take care never to deny gossip and tales.
it's you, but it's not you.
you love _____. i can tell.
you should write these stories down, you know?
lucidity is the best hiding place for deeper meaning.
we both have a penchant for loneliness.
do you truly understand what my job is about?
my job is about being right. always.
i can't tell whether you're being sarcastic or naïve.
would you like to stop for a few moments?
____ saved me. no other way to put it.
this place felt like a home once.
i wish i could have met _____.
i'm famously averse to social functions of any kind.
you've never brought me flowers.
the time has come for action.
never give roses in even numbers: even numbers are for funerals. uneven numbers are for love.
all we have left to choose is different forms of terror. terror and imperialism.
this idleness is killing me.
i care about you. that's all.
i wanted to start on a clean slate.
all throughout history, the origin of capital has been slavery.
i'll know if you're bluffing.
i'm so tired of saying i'm sorry.
chaos is a vortex that spins faster with each thing it swallows.
pluck is as important as elegance.
the more people partake in your everyday life, the more entitled they feel to spread stories about you.
are you saying even your friends spread rumors about you?
that's what they think friendship means: the freedom to turn you into a topic of conversation.
you should leave town. right now.
there is a better world, but it's more expensive.
i've never had champagne before.
having the same goal isn't the same as having a shared goal.
you're one of few who could cast the first stone.
it was a relief to realize i had no choice.
i'm not sure what i imagined, but it wasn't this.
i trust your judgment, even if i disagree with it.
you know you can always come back to this mess.
yours is such a confident chaos.
a fortune seldom has one single owner.
there's nothing more private than pain. it can only involve one.
there are so many things i'd like to like.
you can come to me, whatever you need.
as always, you mistake doubt with depth.
silence between two is always shared, but one of the two owns it, and shares it with the other.
our time apart improved our time together.
where there's a ventriloquist, there's a dummy.
i've forgotten what it feels like to be well.
god is the most uninteresting answer to the most interesting questions.
has time slowed down, or sped up?
people look at me differently now.
a bell in a bell jar won't ring.
