...that in spite of living in a mansion an American is not above wearing a pair of secondhand pants, bought for fifty cents.

It interests me to imagine characters shifting from one situation and one location to another for whatever the circumstances may be.

Gogol is unaccustomed to this sort of talk at mealtimes, to the indulgent ritual of the lingering meal, and the pleasant aftermath of bottles and crumbs and empty glasses that clutter the table.

The first sentence of a book is a handshake, perhaps an embrace.

With children the clock is reset. We forget what came before

You are still young, free.. Do yourself a favor. Before it's too late, without thinking too much about it first, pack a pillow and a blanket and see as much of the world as you can. You will not regret it. One day it will be too late.

I wanted to pull away from the things that marked my parents as being different.