dialogue prompts from home by marilynne robinson.
why so quiet? you've never heard the truth before?
you take things too much to heart.
so much was never explained to me. we were that kind of family.
the truth has hard edges and sharp corners.
it's like i had a dream of adulthood and woke up here, in my parents' house.
who gets to say what's good and what's bad?
i wasn't always sure i'd live to see a day like this.
you seem transformed, but not changed.
twenty years is a very long time.
i knew i heard your voice, and i couldn't wait to get a look at you.
you couldn't be more welcome here.
what right do you have to be so strange?
i'm something. i don't quite know what i am.
how do you know i'm not a communist?
i don't really want to keep to myself so much. it's just a habit.
what do people do for work around here?
i need to read my horoscope. i've forgotten what i did yesterday.
'insinuating' is an ugly word. snaky.
everything i do makes everything worse.
i'm always willing to play by the house rules.
you just picked me up and carried me, didn't you?
i'm not who you remember. i know that.
all i need is an eagle to peck at my liver, such as it is.
whatever the trouble is, i'll help if i can.
it never seems to make much of a difference, whether or not i'm at fault.
call me whatever you like. it's wonderful just to hear your voice.
i'm surprised you remember so much.
are you gonna try to save my soul?
i think i like your soul the way it is.
it is art that keeps the demons at bay.
what do you act like when you're happy?
i always thought this was an excellent place to be a child.
even the most virtuous are in no position to pass judgment.
it's remarkable how much you don't bother me.
hope is a valuable thing. there isn't always so much to rejoice about, in this life.
if you could find a way to leave, you'd be gone.
moral complexity was never my strong point.
i hope you're not mad at me, though i don't know why you wouldn't be.
i know i did the wrong thing, laughing like that.
it was all horrible enough to be funny, i suppose. now that it's over.
stupidity isn't a sin, so far as i know, but it should be one.
all my life i've wanted your attention, wanted to talk with you.
if you got to know me well enough, you might not want me around.
do you remember the time you paid me a dime to stop crying?
maybe there is no justice in the world, after all. what a wonderful thought.
you know that feeling you have when you're the reason people aren't talking?
i believe you may be the only friend i have in the world at the moment.
i don't want you to comfort me, i want you to help me.
of course i'll help you, but you have to tell me what to do.
my grandmother said you can always trust a morning dream.
i find it hard to believe these things you say about yourself.