The bicycle riders drank much wine, and were burned and browned by the sun. They did not take the race seriously except among themselves.

They were beaten to start with. They were beaten when they took them from their farms and put them in the army. That is why the peasant has wisdom, because he is defeated from the start. Put him in power and see how wise he is.

You’ll ache. And you’re going to love it. It will crush you. And you’re still going to love all of it.

I was young and not gloomy and there were always strange and comic things that happened in the worst time.

The only kind of writing is rewriting.

In those days, there was no money to buy books.

Nobody climbs on skis now and almost everybody breaks their legs but maybe it is easier in the end to break your legs than to break your heart although they say that everything breaks now and that sometimes, afterwards, many are stronger at the broken places.