"Little Children"

[fiefoe]

This is a nice change of pace. Pedestrian in the best sense of the word. People in this book lead lives that are instantly recognizable. On top of that, Tom Perrotta qualifies as a local author.

• Of course you did, Sarah thought. There was no higher praise at the playground than cute. It meant harmless. Easily absorbed. Posing no threat to smug suburbanites.
• After all, what was adult life but one moment of weakness piled on top of another? Most people just fell in line like obedient little children, doing exactly what society expected of them at any given moment, all the while pretending that they'd actually made some sort of choice.
• That was one of the sweet, but slightly insane things about being three: Nothing ever got old. If it was good, it stayed good, at least until you turned four.
• Underlying Mary Ann's every utterance was an obnoxious sense of certainty, of personal completeness, as if she'd gotten everything she'd ever wanted in the best of all possible worlds.
• The fact was, women in general weren't about to get released from patriarchal control anytime soon, so in the meantime, it was every girl for herself.

Orville Redenbacher