There are two kind of men,' said Ka, in a didatic voice. 'The first kind does not fall in love until he's seen how the girls eats a sandwich, how she combs her hair, what sort of nonsense she cares about, why she's angry at her father, and what sort of stories people tell about her. The second type of man -- and I am in this category -- can fall in love with a woman only if he knows next to nothing about her.

Love is a sacred silence.

I am nothing but a corpse now, a body at the bottom of a well.

When two people love each other as we do, no one can come between them, no one," I said, amazed at the words I was uttering without preparation. "Lovers like us, because they know that nothing can destroy their love, even on the worst days, even when they are heedlessly hurting each other in the cruelest , most deceitful ways, still carry in their hearts a consolation that never abandons them." (p.191)

The snow reminded me of the beauty and mystery of creation, of the essential joy that is life.

Mankind's greatest error, the biggest deception of the past thousand years is this: to confuse poverty with stupidity.

I have hired a bodyguard, on the recommendation of my friends and the government. It's outrageous, having to live like this.