His mind was like a soup dish, wide and shallow; it could hold a small amount of nearly anything, but the slightest jarring spilled the soup into somebody's lap

The best romance is inside marriage; the finest love stories come after the wedding, not before.

There's no love without pain.

To try to understand another human being, to grapple for his ultimate depths, that is the most dangerous of human endeavors.

I knew that I had to find out more about van Gogh. Even though I was far too young, and felt I did not have sufficient technique to write a book about Vincent van Gogh, I knew I had to try. If I didn't I would never write anything else.

Sometimes men are generous and forgiving, sometimes angry and blind.

Reading is a stouthearted activity, disporting courage, keenness, stick-to-it-ness.