“...because it is the privilige and the curse of midnight's children to be both masters and victims of their times, to forsake privacy and be sucked into the annihilating whirlpool of the multitudes...”

“If we can cease envisaging ourselves as metaphorical foetuses, and substitute the image of a newborn child, then that will be at least a small intellectual advance. In time, perhaps, we may even le...”

“For a long while I have believed this is perhaps my version of Sir Darius Xerxes Camas belief in a fourth function of outsideness that in every generation there are a few souls, call them lucky o...”

“It has been observed that all Americans need a frontier: pain was hers, and she was determined to push it out.”

“No people whose word for 'yesterday' is the same as their word for 'tomorrow' can be said to have a firm grip on the time.”

“During, he looked away from all the strain, all the scratchiness, all the fights that never got going, he closed his eyes and waited until her smile came back. He allowed himself to believe in that...”

“work at our responsibility as parents as if everything in life counted on it, because in fact everything in life does count on it.”

“Happiness [is] only real when shared”

“That's what people do who love you. They put their arms around you and love you when you're not so lovable.”

“The more you talk about them, the more important they will feel. The more you listen to them, the more important you will make them feel.”

“My mother always says people should be able to take care of themselves, even if they're rich and important.”

“There is no job more important than parenting. This I believe.”

“Our souls are always looking for love, and hearts wait to treasure it.”

“His gut was stitched up good and tight, but that didnt prevent it from flopping. He wiped his damp palms on the legs of his jeans and stood up shakily, leaning heavily on his cane.He called himself...”

“Never fall in love?""Always," said the count. "I am always in love.”