Sisterland

"On average, an earthquake of magnitude 6 or greater happens somewhere in the world every three days. Mostly, they happen underwater, and we hardly take notice. It is only when the earthquake comes to us, upending the streets and houses and trees we think of as ours, that they command our attention. But the earth...is always busy."

Sisterland, pp. 389-90
By Curtis Sittenfeld

Published 2013

The Man of My Dreams

"And yet attending to things that make Hannah unhappy - it's such a natural reflex. It feels so intrinsic, it feels in some ways like who she is. The unflattering observations she makes about other people, the comments that get her in trouble, aren't these truer than small talk and thank-you notes? Worse, but truer. And underneath all the decorum, isn't most everyone judgmental and disappointed? Or is is it only certain people, and can she choose not to be one of them - can she choose this without also, like her mother, just giving in?"

The Man of My Dreams, p. 139
By Curtis Sittenfeld
Published 2006

American Wife

"But what I did care about, what I wanted most fervently, was for her to understand that hard work paid off, that decency begat decency, that humility was not a raincoat you occasionally pulled on when you thought conditions called for it, but rather a constant way of existing in the world, knowing that good and bad luck touched everyone and none of us were fully responsible for our fortunes and tragedies."

American Wife, p. 401
By Curtis Sittenfeld
Published 2009

Prep

"Ault had taught me everything I needed to know about attracting and alienating people, what the exact measurements ought to be of confidence and self deprecation, humor, disclosure, inquisitiveness; even, finally, of enthusiasm. Also, Ault had been the toughest audience I'd ever encounter, to the extent that sometimes afterward, I found winning people over disappointingly easily."

Prep, p. 283
By Curtis Sittenfeld
Published 2005