He was himself a case in point, and perhaps not a rare one, for his spirit, it seemed, had been burned out of him but he was yet walking.

What I wanted to do was slap him down a bit with wit and words. Grammar and vocabulary as a weapon. But what kind of world would it be if we all took every opportunity presented to us to assault the weak?

We mark some days as fair, some as foul, because we do not see that the character of every day as identical

It always helps me connect with characters, to think about what music they respond to

Our worst pain is confined within our own skin.

If I had to give up reading or give up listening to music, I suspect I'd stick with the music.

I remember my father checking on a mountain kid who hadn't been coming to school. My father had this beautiful Harris tweed overcoat. He came back with a knife cut all down one side. The parents had told him it was none of his business why their son wasn't going to school.