“What are we all chasing? Nella wonders. To live, of course. To be unbound from the invisible ropes that Johannes spoke of in his study. Or to be happy in them, at least.”

“This city is like no other city in the world. It is brilliant but it is bloated, and I've never called it home”

“The turnip cannot thrive in the tulips patch of soil.”

“The rules of this house are written in water. I must either sink or swim.”

“Because, Petronella - it's something in his soul. It's something in his soul and you can't get it out.”

“All we can do if we're lucky is stich up the mistakes other people make.”

“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 ...”

“I feel separated and cut off from the world around me, but occasionally I've felt that it was really a part of me, and I hope I'll have that feeling again, and that next time it won't go away. That...”

“Sometimes I feel like we're a knot, too tangled to be taken apart.”

“Memories of lost love they do enpain,Fleeting images of what once was never again to gain.Hold tight those memories that slip through the mind, To walk in those fields again with hera dream divi...”

“As she left the cold arena Angel had to laugh,Beaten by that of a wisp girl and her subliming cunning craft.Jove lay silent in his orbit; brooding, deep, dreamless forweep,And faithful dog Sirius r...”