The door could not be heard slamming; they had probably left it open, as is the custom in homes where a great misfortune has occurred.

They did not know what we can now guess at, contemplating the course of history: that change begins in the soul before it appears in ordinary existence.

In Paradise, as always: that which causes the sin and that which recognizes it for what it is are one. The clear conscience is Evil, which is so entirely victorious that it does not any longer consider the leap from left to right necessary.

But Gregor understood easily that it was not only consideration for him which prevented their moving, for he could easily have been transported in a suitable crate with a few air holes; what mainly prevented the family from moving was their complete hopelessness and the thought that they had been struck by a misfortune as none of their relatives and acquaintances had ever been hit.

It would be very unjust to say that you deserted me, but that I was deserted, and sometimes terribly so, is true.

I no longer know If I wish to drown myself in love, vodka or the sea.

We photograph things in order to drive them out of our minds. My stories are a way of shutting my eyes.