“You will have the last word.' 'Your name will be that word.”

“The girl's face hollowed with resignation; it had been a long time, but Sonja remembered what it was to have that face, what it was to feel you were no brighter than the dumbest man, no stronger th...”

“She felt as buoyantly patriotic as her Chechen classmates who could trace their family trees back to the acorns”

“Her mother stared in quiet awe of this more artful rearrangement of her genetic code, and slipped into a contentedness that usually appeared only after the red wine had fallen below the bottle label.”

“Then Brezhnev grabbed the wheel of power and captained the country with the exploratory heart of a municipal bus driver.”

“Time became more important the closer to death one was, so an extra few hours to make peace with the world were worth more than years.”

“Stupidity and wisdom meet in the same centre of sentiment and resolution, in the suffering of human accidents.”

“If this man had not twelve thousand a year, he would be a very stupid fellow.”

“There are only 2 paths to happiness in life. Utter Stupidity or Exceptional Wealth.”

“Once you have been tortured, you can never belong in this world. There is no place that ever be your home.”

“This is torture, torture, torture.Why is this so hard?? I survived whole days not talking to you before. What happened???I'm not as nice in the world today. I am scowly. I am trying to be good and ...”

“War is organized murder and torture against our brothers.”