In the shop we buy and sell them, but in truth books have no owner. Every book you see here has been somebody’s best friend.

Time curses all, I thought, except the truth.

Every time a book changes hands, every time someone runs his eyes down its pages, its spirit grows and strengthens.

The fact is that nothing is more difficult to believe than the truth; conversely, nothing seduces like the power of lies, the greater the better. It's only natural, and you will have to find the right balance. Having said that, let me add that this particular old woman hasn't been collecting only years; she has also collected stories, and none sadder or more terrible than the one she's about to tell you. You have been at the heart of this story without knowing it until today.

You women listen more to your heart and less to all the nonsense. That's why you live longer.

I quarreled with every word, every phrase and expression, every image and letter as if they were the last I was ever going to write. I wrote and rewrote every line as if my life depended on it, and then rewrote it again.

I think you judge yourself too severely, a quality that always distinguishes people of true worth.