There are some who go through life with a shadow hanging over them, particularly if they live in a building which has long wide awnings.

the table of elements does not contain one of the most powerful elements that make up our world, and that is the element of surprise.

I had this idea about terrible things happening to orphans, and I knew it was such a horrible idea that the idea of writing it down and then submitting it professionally was obviously absurd.

It is very frustrating not to be understood in this world. If you say one thing and keep being told that you mean something else, it can make you want to scream. But somewhere in the world there is a place for all of us, whether you are an electric form of decoration, peppermint-scented sweet, a source of timber, or a potato pancake.

If everyone fought fire with fire, the whole world would go up in smoke.

To stutter through it with you or even stop stuttering and say nothing, was so lucky and soft, better talk than mile-a-minute with anyone. After a few minutes we’d stop rattling, we’d adjust, we’d settle in, and the conversation would speed into the night.

It was a curious feeling, that something could be so close and so distant at the same time.