That's the way things come clear. All of a sudden. And then you realize how obvious they've been all along.

There was no light. The darkness was deep and there was no dazzle.

My dear, I'm seldom sure of anything. Life at best is a precarious business, and we aren't told that difficult or painful things won't happen, just that it matters. It matters not just to us but to the entire universe.

We have much to be judged on when he comes, slums and battlefields and insane asylums, but these are the symptoms of our illness and the result of our failures in love.

My writing knows more than I know. What a writer must do is listen to her book. It might take you where you don’t expect to go. That’s what happens when you write stories. You listen and you say ‘a ha,’ and you write it down. A lot of it is not planned, not conscious; it happens while you’re doing it. You know more about it after you’re done.

There is little character or loveliness in the face of someone who has shunned risk, avoided suffering and rejected life

Das Werk lobt den Meister. (German: The work proves the craftsman.)