“We cannot be too cautious, Hannelore. Just because someone knocks on the door doesn't mean you have to open it. Sometimes, sweet girl, there are wolves at the door. If we are not careful, they migh...”

“My war had been so long, my winter so cold. But i had made it home. And for the first time in a long time, i was not afraid.”

“Killers aren't always assassins. Sometimes, they don't even have blood on their hands.”

“I didn't need his criticism. I carried enough guilt on my own. I had done everything wrong. I had the highest marks in school but couldn't master common sense.”

“I wanted to stay locked away from the pain and destruction. I didn't want to be strong. I didn't want to be the 'smart girl'. I was so very tired. I just wanted it all to be over.”

“What did I want? I wanted the war to be over so I could ask her out.”

“We cannot be too cautious, Hannelore. Just because someone knocks on the door doesn't mean you have to open it. Sometimes, sweet girl, there are wolves at the door. If we are not careful, they migh...”

“My arm began moving, turning the invisible crank of Death's music box. Somewhere inside, I didn't want the melody to end.”

“Dear Diary, the Heroine never cries.”

“The battered and pathetic thing that represented any claim to conscience I might have had turned away from me in disgust. Oddly, I couldn't blame it. I was disgusted myself. Disgusted at my weaknes...”

“The part of her that should have been disgusted was numb.”

“There had been a time in Godfrey's life when, had she stood before him in all her splendor, he would have turned from her, because of her history, with a sad disgust. Was he less pure now? He was m...”

“The women looked from one to the other, knowing what the men didnt know. We knew the heartbeat and interior graces, compensation for our own clumsiness; the beatitude as we renounced our bodies, ou...”

“The condom broke. I know how stupid that sounds. It's the reproductive version of the dog ate my homework.”

“After a good roll in the hay, when hes all peaceful and serene and he hasnt a worry or a care in the world, and the euphoric calm of release is drifting through his cerebrum, thats when you broadsi...”