“She looks at the swings, and I can see shes imagining what theyd look like if the kids werent there. The guilt of this holds her down momentarily. It appears to be there constantly. Never far away,...”

“Sometimes people are beautiful.Not in looks.Not in what they say.Just in what they are.”

“Maybe everyone can live beyond what they're capable of.”

“Why cant the world hear? I ask myself. Within a few moments I ask it many times. Because it doesnt care, I finally answer, and I know Im right. Its like Ive been chosen. But chosen for what? I ask.”

“As we walk back, it feels like the city is engulfing us. Adrenalin still pours through our veins. Sparks flow through to our fingers. We've still been running in the mornings, but the city's differ...”

“...there would be punishment and pain, and there would be happiness, too. That was writing.”

“The world is not worthless but one should know how to get work done from it, because everyone is God, they all have different work to do. Therefore do not have dislike for anything in this world.”

“Just as you wont enjoy the fruits of the tree you dislike, so you wont even wait to learn from people you hate.”

“Never waste a minute thinking about people you don't like.”

“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.”

“Failed relationships can be described as so much wasted make-up.”

“Sex without love is a meaningless experience, but as far as meaningless experiences go its pretty damn good.”

“Aside from the obvious, Francesca, what do you want in return for supplying information? Bones asked, getting back to the subject. You to take me, she replied at once. Not gonna happen! I spat, squ...”