Zoya

“I think of my parents, not because I miss them, but because sometimes you see a black person above the age of fifty walking down the street, and you just know that they have seen some shit. You know that they are masters of the double consciousness, of the discreet management of fury under the tight surveillance and casual violence of the outside world. You know that they said thank you as they bled, and that despite the roaches and the instant oatmeal and the bruise on your face, you are still luckier than they have ever been, such that losing a bottom-tier job in publishing is not only ridiculous but offensive.”
― Raven Leilani, Luster

“This is what I keep returning to: how people decide who is or is not an unreliable narrator. And after that decision has been made, what do we do with people who attempt to construct their own vision of justice?”
― Carmen Maria Machado, In the Dream House

“I was just thinking that you and I...have seen very different memes in our lives.”
― Patricia Lockwood, No One Is Talking About This

“I’m an open book,” I say, thinking of all the men who have found it illegible.”
― Raven Leilani, Luster