Quotable Friday (4)

I love reading quotations. Whether they’re funny, wise or poignant, I love those snapshots into the human mind; I love the beauty of language. There aren’t always easy ways to crowbar great passages from novels or thoughtful quotations into ordinary blog posts, so on Fridays I’m letting them speak for themselves. No deep thoughts, no fancy attempts to unpick hidden meanings – just snippets of our beautiful language I’ve come across that I’ve fallen in love with. I’d love to know what you think of them. 

This week's quotation comes from Earth, Air, Fire and Custard by Tom Holt. Tom Holt writes books I'd describe as comedic alternative fiction - a bit like Terry Pratchett but less fantastical, taking place in a slightly altered reality rather than a different one entirely. When I first read this I thought it was the most beautiful description of love, all the better for coming in the middle of a funny, light-hearted book.

Paul is wondering why he's in love with Sophie...

"Paul thought about that for two, maybe two and a half seconds, and realised that he didn't know, that there wasn't an answer; just as there's never any answer to those simple but incredibly difficult questions you ask when you're four years old, and the grown-up just looks at you all cross and ambarrassed and says, 'Just because, that's why.' [...] Why? Because. And that's how you know it's true love. If you love someone for or because of something, it doesn't count; it's admiration, appreciation or the recognition of some resource she's got that you can exploit to your own advantage. Unless it's just Because, it can't be unconditional, instinctive, involuntary. Doesn't count. No good."