I'll tell you this, lad: A tattoo says more of a fellow looking at it than it can do of the man who's got it on his back.

Of all the conditions we experience, solitude is perhaps the most misunderstood.

There are stories told to him only at this time of year. Fantastic, magical stories, the old Hollier in the woods finding only three red berries, which peel back in the night to reveal gifts of frankincense, gold and myrrh, Christmas in hot deserts, dust-blown countries, the necklace of tears, and the story of the robin.

I'll tell you this, lad: A tattoo says more of a fellow looking at it than it can do of the man who's got it on his back.

I don't like novels that tie everything up in a plot-y way. I always think that's not really true of life, particularly of people in power.

You didn’t understand what he was saying, until he kissed you. It was a kiss of such complicity, of such uncomplicated sympathy, that you felt for the first time not alone in your suffering.

The man had added to his body in a way that was brave and timeless and beyond adornment.