A writer needs four things to achieve greatness, Pasquale: desire, disappointment, and the sea.” “That’s only three.” Alvis finished his wine. “You have to do disappointment twice.

What kind of wife would I be if I left your father simply because he was dead?

He considered it a shame when people couldn't grasp the infinite-a failure not just of imagination but of simple vision.

No one gets to tell you what your life means!

I've been a dad since I was nineteen, so I think a lot about fatherhood and the power of that sacrifice in your life.

Because I'm a novelist, I think in terms of structure. The way I keep going is through structure. It's what inspires me and pushes me through.

Then she smiled, and in that instant, if such a thing were possible, Pasquale fell in love, and he would remain in love for the rest of his life--not so much with the woman, whom he didn't even know, but with the moment.