An obscure flesh-and-blood Gascon, forgotten by History, transformed into a legendary giant by the novelist's genius

Never trust a man who reads only one book.

She loves you, loathes you, treats you well, then ill. Like a leech or a surgeon's knife, she's double-edged: sometimes she'll cure, but sometimes she will kill.

Actually loneliness has a kind of fascination; it's a state of egotistical, inner grace that you can achieve only by standing guard on old, forgotten roads that no one travels anymore.

Centuries of make-up that can be smudged by emotion have taught women to control their feelings.

What about the future?" "We'll talk about the future when it gets here.

...the problem with words is that once spoken, they cannot find their way back to the speaker alone.

Everyone gets the devil he deserves.

You don't choose your friends, they choose you, and you either reject them or you accept them without reservations.

Becoming a book collector is like joining a religion: it’s for life.

Chess is all about getting the king into check, you see. It's about killing the father. I would say that chess has more to do with the art of murder than it does with the art of war.

As a teacher, as a propagandist, Mr. Shaw is no good at all, even in his own generation. But as a personality, he is immortal.

Yes, burn your bridges.

There is nothing like the local church when the local church is working right.

Although I love snow, it messes things up terribly around Seattle, with all of our hills. I worry about my loved ones driving.

The marriage vow is an absurdity imposed by society.

As we get used to women in power, we are likely to discover that they behave much like powerful men - vain, entitled, always looking for more.

There is no death, daughter. People die only when we forget them.

Successful people are action oriented.

When I was 16, I got 'Jamon, Jamon.' Of course, I had to lie about my age. And I had to lie to my parents about the content of the script.

In the absence of evidence to the contrary, always assume you have the upper hand.