“When you have truly come to know a person, Nella -- when you see beneath the sweet gestures, the smiles -- when you see the rage and the pitiful fear which each of us hide -- then forgiveness is ev...”

“1887A lifetime isn't enough to know how a person will behave.”

“Writing is a leap of faith. But how wonderful that the person you're putting faith in is yourself.”

“Some tourists think Amsterdam is a city of sin, but in truth it is a city of freedom. And in freedom, most people find sin.”

“By seeing how small the world is, I realize how capable I am. I can conquer anything. Anywhere. Anyone.”

“Prostitution is not exactly a reputable business over there either, even though the girls actually have to pay taxes on their earnings, and submit to regular health check ups. Even the prostitutes ...”

“All words are pegs to hang ideas on.”

“A word is not the same with one writer as it is with another. One tears it from his guts. The other pulls it out of his overcoat pocket.”

“No doubt I shall go on writing, stumbling across tundras of unmeaning, planting words like bloody flags in my wake....”