I savor bitterness - it is born of experience. It is the privilege of one who has truly lived.

The goblins of the city may hold committees to divide a single potato, but the strong and the cruel still sit on the hill, and drink vodka, and wear black furs, and slurp borscht by the pail, like blood. Children may wear through their socks marching in righteous parades, but Papa never misses his wine with supper. Therefore, it is better to be strong and cruel than to be fair. At least, one eats better that way. And morality is more dependent on the state of one’s stomach than of one’s nation.

When little ones say they want to go home, they almost never mean it. They mean they are tired of this particular game and would like to start another.

Family is a transitive property.

Don’t worry,” Marya whispered, kissing his forehead. “My old bones will follow yours soon enough.

Hats change everything. September knew this with all her being, deep in the place where she knew her own name, and that her mother would still love her even though she hadn’t waved goodbye. For one day her father had put on a hat with golden things on it and suddenly he hadn’t been her father anymore, he had been a soldier, and he had left. Hats have power. Hats can change you into someone else.

Snow is the beginning and the end of everything.