He had been to see Mrs. Erlich just before starting home for the holidays, and found her making German Christmas cakes. She took him into the kitchen and explained the almost holy traditions that governed this complicated cookery. Her excitement and seriousness as she beat and stirred were very pretty, Claude thought. She told off on her fingers the many ingredients, but he believed there were things she did not name: the fragrance of old friendships, the glow of early memories, belief in wonder-working rhymes and songs.

Our tree became the talking tree of the fairy tale; legends and stories nestled like birds in its branches.

I have not much faith in women in fiction.... Women are so horribly subjective and they have such scorn for the healthy commonplace. When a woman writes a story of adventure, a stout sea tale, a manly battle yarn, anything without wine, women, and love, then I will begin to hope for something great from them, not before.

How terrible it was to love people when you could not really share their lives!

To note an artist's limitations is but to define his talent.

Prayers said by good people are always good prayers

Elsewhere the sky is the roof of the world; but here the earth was the floor of the sky.