Childhood, after all, is the first precious coin that poverty steals from a child.

Until he lost all his money, my father was a successful north London Jewish businessman. He was unusual among his immediate family in that he was enormously cultured and had an incredible library.

We have an hour before we have to leave," Cray said. "So I thought I might tell you a little about myself. I thought it might pass the time." "I'm not really all that interested," Alex said.

When are you at your most defenseless?

There's a name for people with an interest in the moon," Alex said. "They're called lunatics.

He looked from the phone to the unconscious figure of the Salesman. "What did you do to him?" he asked. "He got the wrong number," Alex said.

When the doorbell rings at three in the morning, it's never good news.