Quotes

At that he pointed in my direction and, for the first time, actually looked at me - and I'm not sure I'm up to describing all that was in the look: His eyes sparkled with a message of hope, and the smallest, quickest smile told me to have courage. All in a rush and for the first time in my life, I felt like someone over the age of fifteen truly gave a goddamn about my existence.

Here you can find some of my favourite Laszlo quotes from The Alienist and The Angel of Darkness. This is by no means complete and only shows quotes which don't "spoil" either of the two books. You can find a more complete list of notable quotes at 17thstreet.net.

The Alienist, Chapter 4: on music

Kreizler indicated his newspaper as he checked the time. "I'm somewhat irritated with your employers. Yesterday evening I saw a brilliant Pagliacci at the Metropolitan, with Melba and Ancona -- and all the Times can talk about is Alvary's Tristan."

The Alienist, Chapter 4: on insanity

"They'll want him to be mad, of course," Laszlo mused, not hearing me. "The doctors here, the newspapers, the judges; they'd like to think that only a madman would shoot a five-year-old girl in the head. It creates certain... difficulties, if we are forced to accept that our society can produce sane men who commit such acts."

The Alienist, Chapter 6: on one of his research papers

As I glanced at Kreizler I saw a trace of real apprehension in his features; but then he seemed to force the trace away, and when he spoke it was in a determinedly casual tone. "I am sorry, Moore. But I happen to be familiar with that author. As poor a stylist as he is a thinker..."

The Alienist, Chapter 7: interacting with children

The girl pointed at the book uncertainly, then spoke in a tremor as she turned her finger on me: "Then... am I mad, too, Dr. Kreizler? And is this man going to put me in one of these places?"

"What?" Kreizler answered, taking the book away and giving me an admonishing look. "Mad? Rediculous! We have only good news." Laszlo spoke to her as to any adult -- directly, bluntly -- but with a tone that he reserved for children: patient, kind, occasionally indulgent. "Come right over here." The girl approached him, and Kreizler helped her jump onto his knee. "You are a very healthy, very intelligent young lady." The girl blushed and laughed, quietly and happily.

The Alienist, Chapter 7: on children's mental health

"The great difficulty," he mumbled, as he returned to his secretary and began straightening papers, "of convincing people that the mental health of children must be better attended to is that more and more of them believe that their child's every little trouble betrays a momentous condition. Ah well..."

The Alienist, Chapter 7: the predatory gaze

"I've no doubt, gentlemen," Kreizler finished for him, ever more concerned and treating them fully to the arched eyebrows and the predatory gaze. "Interesting though that may be, what I had intended to ask was how you arrived at your areas of specialization, and what led you to the police force."

The Alienist, Chapter 9: on manners

"Am I clear, sir?"

"Clear, sir?" Kreizler finally answered, still not looking at Strong. "Certainly you are ill mannered, but as to clear..." He shrugged.

The Alienist, Chapter 10: feeling out of the loop

"Moore," Kreizler interrupted, his voice snapping a bit, "I'm beginning to understand how you must often feel -- once again, gentlemen and lady, I'm lost."

The Alienist, Chapter 21: on Germans

"[...] you can never be quite sure about the Germans..." Marcus caught himself and glanced at Kreizler. "Oh. No offence intended, Doctor," he said.

Lucius clapped a hand to his forehead, but Kreizler only smiled wryly. The Isaacsons' idiosyncracies no longer perplexed him in any way. "No offence taken, Detective Sergeant -- you can, indeed, never be certain about the Germans."