It would then be brought abruptly to an end, for the brightness had shown suffering the way.

You cannot be afraid, Read the book. Smile at it. It's a great book-the greatest book you've ever read.

When a person's last response was Saumensch or Saukerl or Arschloch, you knew you had them beaten.

When she faced the noise, she found the mayor’s wife in a brand-new bathrobe and slippers. On the breast pocket of the robe sat an embroidered swastika. Propaganda even reached the bathroom.

The first couple of times, he simply stayed - a stranger to kill the aloneness. A few nights after that, he whispered “Shhh, I’m here, its alright.” After three weeks, he held her. Trust was accumulated quickly, due primarily to the brute strength of the man’s gentleness, his thereness.

I like to tell students, 'I didn't burst on to the literary scene.' I'm never good at things at the beginning. I was terrible at the start. I need to work and work.

They'd been standing like that for thirty seconds of forever.