Life had already given him sufficient reasons for knowing that no defeat was the final one.

A short time later, when the carpenter was taking measurements for the coffin, through the window they saw a light rain of tiny yellow flowers falling. They fell on the town all through the night in a silent storm, and they covered the roofs and blocked the doors and smothered the animals who slept outdoors. So many flowers fell from the sky that in the morning the streets were carpeted with a compact cushion and they had to clear them away with shovels and rakes so that the funeral procession could pass by.

The rain would not have bothered Fernanda, after all, her whole life had been spent as if it were raining.

I think that the idea that I'm writing for many more people than I ever imagined has created a certain general responsibility that is literary and political. There's even pride involved, in not wanting to fall short of what I did before.

He was healthier than the rest of us, but when you listened with the stethoscope you could hear the tears bubbling inside his heart.

Music is important for one's health.

An artisan without memories, whose only dream was to die of fatigue in the oblivion and misery of his little gold fishes.