A man can go from being a lover to being a stranger in three moves flat but a woman under the guise of friendship will engage in acts of duplicity which come to light very much later. There are different species of self-justification.

Accountability in friendship is the equivalent of love without strategy.

Writing novels preserves you in a state of innocence - a lot passes you by - simply because your attention is otherwise diverted.

Death is only a small interruption.

For once a thing is known, it can never be unknown. It can only be forgotten.

That sun, that light had faded, and she had faded with them. Now she was as grey as the season itself.

In real life, it is the hare who wins. Every time. Look around you. And in any case it is my contention that Aesop was writing for the tortoise market. Hares have no time to read. They are too busy winning the game.