“She is a wiry blanched creature with no beauty. Her expression reminds him of a crumpled letter there is both sadness and anger in it.”

“He likes to think of himself as someone who can give quick clever answers to awkward questions. It is an important part of his self-esteem.”

“The snow, the effect of concealment and secrecy it creates, makes him think of the brutality of the wartime legislation to forbid and violently extract secrets. It is as if the hushed white landsca...”

“Today she feels she is the master of her craft. Today she is free of the grinding tyranny of doubt. The voice that mocks her ambition. The voice that bites and slanders and causes her more heartach...”

“Artists, like criminals, are dependent on a jury.”

“Esme skips on ahead. Jumping from one foot to the other, as if she can see markings on the ground he cant. She is constantly jumping and skipping and twirling with the lightness of falling snow, lo...”

“There was only the dark infinity in which nothing was. And something happened. At the distance of a star something happened, and everything began. The Word did not come into being, but it was. It d...”

“The recipe for great work is: very exacting taste, plus the ability to gratify it.”

“Now there is a final reason I think that Jesus says, "Love your enemies." It is this: that love has within it a redemptive power. And there is a power there that eventually transforms individuals. ...”