This is what I think now: that the natural state of the sentient adult is a qualified unhappiness.

Talk English to me, Tommy. Parlez francais avec moi, Nicole. But the meanings are different-- in French you can be heroic and gallant with dignity, and you know it. But in English you can't be heroic and gallant without being a little absurd, and you know that too. That gives me an advantage.

He had no plans, no definite intentions, except to kiss her lips again, to hold her in his arms.

When a girl feels that she’s perfectly groomed and dressed she can forget that part of her. That’s charm

I am slow-thinking and full of interior rules that act as brakes on my desires.

i was perhaps an egotist in youth, but i soon found it made me morbid to think too much about myself

Life cracked like ice!