She should have done science, not spent all her time with her head in novels. Novels gave you a completely false idea about life, they told lies and they implied there were endings when in reality there were no endings, everything just went on and on and on.

She doesn't believe in dogs," Bridget said. "Dogs are hardly an article of faith," Sylvie said.

I can't help but think that it's an unfortunate custom to name children after people who come to sticky ends. Even if they are fictional characters, it doesn't bode well for the poor things. There are too many Judes and Tesses and Clarissas and Cordelias around. If we must name our children after literary figures then we should search out happy ones, although it's true they are much harder to find.

Oh, God. What was happening to her, she was turning into a normal person.

I spent four years doing a doctorate in postmodern American literature. I can recognize it when I see it.

Men had no purpose on earth whereas women were gods walking unrecognized among them.

It wasn't that [he] believed in religion, or a God, or an afterlife. He just knew it was impossible to feel this much love and for it to end.