You see, all that I ever held dear has been taken from me," she said in a matter-of-fact tone. "And when you've lost everything-" Her facade began to crumble, and her voice broke, but she made herself carry on. "When you've lost everything, you've got nothing to lose.

In both cases, weakness and scruples had defeated strength and ruthlessness.

Trusting someone was like holding a little water in your cupped hands - it was so easy to spill the water, and you could never get it back.

I don't think there's any great mystery to writing female characters, so long as you talk to them. If you lived in a monastery and never met any women, maybe it would be difficult.

I might not be a good socialist, any more than I'm a good Christian, but I am one.

But desperate people find courage.

She wanted to say 'I love you like a thunderstorm, like a lion, like a helpless rage'.