“Another thing about Oscar is that he wasnt afraid of anyone. And he always made up his own mind, no matter what other people said. Theyre two of the best things I remember about him now.He wasnt ju...”

“Oscar had a straightforward, dimpled, happy smile. It was one of the hundreds of great things about him.And after that we were best friends. It had been as simple and inevitable as the striking of ...”

“I dont remember now who took the photo of us, but Ive had it in my room for years. Were leaning out of our windows and were laughing at each other with joyfulness purer than anything to do with the...”

“I know what you might be thinking here on your own, but those thoughts wont last for ever, I said. You wont always feel like this. This will pass. Homer will be here for you, and the sun will rise ...”

“Id never have predicted I would lose touch with him before, that is, I did. I thought I had my reasons. But it turns out that they werent good reasons. It turns out that you should never lose cont...”

“The truth a fairly important thing to hold on to when youve been pulled out of the sea after wanting to drown in it. I couldve let the sea take me. I could easily be dead now, which is funny when y...”

“When I say it's you I like, I'm talking about that part of you that knows that life is far more than anything you can ever see or hear or touch. That deep part of you that allows you to stand for t...”

“You know Balbec so well - do you have friends in the area?'I have friends wherever there are companies of trees, wounded but not vanquished, which huddle together with touching obstinacy to implore...”

“Things that matter are not easy. Feelings of happiness are easy. Happiness is not. Flirting is easy. Love is not. Saying youre friends is easy. Being friends is not.”

“It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages.”

“There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature.”

“If I had a flower for every time I thought of you...I could walk through my garden forever.”