A novel is a mirror walking down a road

She had always wanted words, she loved them; grew up on them. Words gave her clarity, brought reason, shape.

That's Anil's path. She grows up in Sri Lanka, goes and gets educated abroad, and through fate or chance gets brought back by the Human Rights Commission to investigate war crimes.

Everyone has to scratch on walls somewhere or they go crazy

The first sentence of every novel should be: Trust me, this will take time but there is order here, very faint, very human.

We are expanded by tears, we are told, not reduced by them.

We all have an old knot in the heart we wish to untie.

The joyful will stoop with sorrow, and when you have gone to the earth I will let my hair grow long for your sake, I will wander through the wilderness in the skin of a lion

There is the hidden presence of others in us, even those we have known briefly. We contain them for the rest of our lives, at every border that we cross.

For the first forty days a child is given dreams of previous lives. Journeys, winding paths, a hundred small lessons and then the past is erased.

A man in a desert can hold absence in his cupped hands, knowing it is something that feeds him more than water.

The true hypocrite is the one who ceases to perceive his deception, the one who lies with sincerity.

This may be the most important proposition revealed by history: 'At the time, no one knew what was coming.

In a typical history book, black Americans are mentioned in the context of slavery or civil rights. There's so much more to the story.

Much more prevalent than physical fear is the fear of criticism, rejection, and verbal opposition.

The inability of some critics to connect the dots doesn't make pointillism pointless

The question before the advanced nations is not whether they can afford to help the developing nations, but whether they can afford not to do so.

The more we all help each other, the more we all benefit. So go out there. Help others.

My favorite way to dance is being swept off my feet by somebody who doesn't know how to dance.

I would like to say that I am a very relaxed, loving person who is not competitive, but that's a lie!

Emotions are the color of the soul.