An Abundance of Katherines Quotes

 Penulis : John Green | Genre : Fiction, YA
Jumlah Halaman : 320 halaman | Terbit : Mei 2014
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MEMORY AND THE PAST :

1) This was Colin's first memory: his dad slowly lowering the paper and smiling at him. His dad's eyes were wide with surprise and pleasure, and his smile was uncontainable. "CINDY! THE BOY IS READING THE PAPER!" he shouted. (3.30)

It's important for us to hear where it all began: the very first memory that Colin has. For most of us it's something silly we did as a kid, but for Colin it's a significant moment in forming who he is today. His whole identity can be traced back to this moment when he became a child prodigy.

2) "You and me will read a book and find like three interesting things that we remember. But Colin finds everything intriguing. He reads a book about presidents and he remembers more of it because everything he reads clicks in his head as fugging interesting. Honestly, I've seen him do it with the phone book. He'll be like, 'Oh, there are twenty-four listings for Tischler. How fascinating.'" (9.89)

Thanks to Hassan here, we get a look at how Colin's brain works: his memories are so important to him because it's part of what he does and who he is. He likes to read and remember, and then read some more. We all have a favorite memory, but Colin tries to remember everything. 

LOVE :

1) You can love someone so much, he thought. But you can never love people as much as you can miss them. (10.31)

This is one of the most important lines in the book. Why? Because it's so telling about how Colin feels about the Katherines. He may spend most of his life moping over one of them leaving him, claiming he wants her back, but what he's really bummed about is not having that person around any more. He's not still loving her necessarily—he's wanting her to still be around because he misses her. Now that's deep. 

2) "I was thinking about this girl you love so much," she said. "And this place I love so much. And how that happens. How you can just fall into it. This land Hollis is selling, the thing about it is—well, I'm partly mad because I don't want there to be some bullshit McMansion subdivision up there, but also partly because my secret hideout is up there." (13.86)

Sure, there are different types of love. There's the kind you have for your GF or BF and then there's the type you have for your secret hideaway in the woods. So what do they have in common? Lindsey seems to think it's the process of actually falling in love. It just happens, and before you know it, it's already too late: you're in love whether you wanted to be or not. 

LIFE, EXISTENCE :

1) We're invisible. I've never been here with someone else. It's different being invisible with someone. (14.19)

Shh… we're in a super secret hiding place. Lindsey takes Colin to her hideaway where it's so dark they can't even see each other. We're interested in the way she thinks about her life—she can't be seen by anyone, yet she's with Colin. It's as though they are together, but apart from the rest of the world. 

2) "Whatever, I like you, and I never really like anybody. Hassan likes you, and I can tell that he never really likes anybody, either. You just need more people who don't like people." (14.4)

Bam—Lindsey sure knows how to tell it straight. She's not one of those lovey-dovey gals who wants to be BFFs with everyone in sight, and yet she still likes Colin. It's important for him to come to the realization that not everyone loves the popular kids, and that there are loads of people just like him who only exist on the fringes of the cool kids.