The gods lie. They lie because it's the best they can do. We reach out for their lies and we keep on living.

I didn't know the real reason that she was crying. I was just carried away by the feeling of her in my arms, trembling and warm.

They had spent a year in France for no particular reason, and then drifted here and there unrestfully wherever people played polo and were rich together.

the way to create art is to burn and destroy ordinary concepts and to substitute them with new truths that run down from the top of the head and out of the heart

Getting even with somebody is no way to get ahead of anybody.

I think storytelling is all about children. We human beings love to hear stories being told - and it first happens when you're a kid.

The ransoming of captives has been practiced by Jews for many centuries and has been regarded as a greater obligation than charity for the poor.

Life is very, very short, and you can choose to live it how you want. You can choose to dumb yourself down and not express yourself just so you can fit in, just so people won't dislike you.

I care not a jot for immortal life, but only for the taste of tea.

Women--wives and mothers--are the same everywhere.

I looked back, but Bast and Sadie seemed fine. They were still staring at the water as if it were some amazing Internet video.

It was amazing how many friends you could make by being bad at things, provided you were bad enough to be funny.