Watching Italians eat ...

Watching Italians eat (especially men, I have to say) is a form of tourism the books don\'t tell you about. They close their eyes, raise their eyebrows into accent marks, and make sounds of acute appreciation. It\'s fairly sexy. Of course I don\'t know how these men behave at home, if they help with the cooking or are vain and boorish and mistreat their wives. I realized Mediterranean cultures have their issues. Fine, don\'t burst my bubble. I didn’t want to marry these guys, I just wanted to watch. (p. 247)
Watching Italians eat (especially men, I have to say) is a form of tourism the books don't tell you about. They close their eyes, raise their eyebrows into accent marks, and make sounds of acute appreciation. It's fairly sexy. Of course I don't know how these men behave at home, if they help with the cooking or are vain and boorish and mistreat their wives. I realized Mediterranean cultures have their issues. Fine, don't burst my bubble. I didn’t want to marry these guys, I just wanted to watch. (p. 247)
 Barbara Kingsolver

Quotes from the same author

So one time when I was working in this motel one of the toilets leaked and I had to replace the flapper ball. Here's what it said on the package; I kept it till I knew it by heart: 'Please Note. Parts are included for all installations, but no installation requires all of the parts.' That's kind of my philosophy about men. I don't think there's an installation out there that could use all my parts.
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 Barbara Kingsolver
Sometimes the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.
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 Barbara Kingsolver
But kids don't stay with you if you do it right. It's the one job where, the better you are, the more surely you won't be needed in the long run.
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 Barbara Kingsolver
It kills you to see them grow up. But I guess it would kill you quicker if they didn't.
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 Barbara Kingsolver
I can count all the ways in which being a mother has enriched my understanding of the world, of character, my sense of the future and my attachment to it. I can't imagine what kind of writer I'd be if I didn't have my kids.
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 Barbara Kingsolver