Cristina Alger

“But for now, she would lie in her husband's arms, her eyes closed and her body still against his, thinking that if this was all she ever had, it would be enough.”

“Lack of control, he once told her, was worse than anything in the world.”

“Diving in is no fun, but it's a hell of a lot better than drowning.”

“Better stand her ground than back down and apologize, she thought. If I apologize, he'll feel justified in being pissed off, and then he'll be even more difficult than usual.”

“You're perfect. To me you are. You always will be. When you're small you think that about your parents. When you're old, you think that about your kids. You'll see.”

“How inexplicable and enviable, never to want to be anywhere other than where you already are.”

“This was an unfortunate misstep, and one that could have been avoided if only she had remembered never to take to heart the words of a drunken man.”

“It would require careful planning and execution, but Marina always accomplished everything to which she put her mind. She made a lot of spreadsheets.”

“Still, it felt a little strange, as though he had joined a preexisting family instead of beginning one of his own.”

“The greatest strength you can have is to know your own strengths. You've got to figure out what you're good at and make the most of it.”

“To be jealous of money is uninspired ... You can only be jealous of someone who has something that you can never have. More style, for example, or wit. Money is easily earned.”

“I think you should see this as a blessing. A release from a lifetime of mediocrity.”

“The constant mental fight made him irritable. He had never had a temper before. Some days, he felt as if his entire body were a raw nerve, its membrane receptive even to the smallest passing slight.”

“And all women wanted something. Ines felt strongly that women were rarely friends with one another unless they could get something out of it. Female friendships were like strategic alliances: Each party had to bring something to the table in order to maintain equity.”

“You can point to Deal A and say, "That shouldn't have happened," but what does a guy in my position do? Challenge one? I'd get fired. Challenge them all? I'd get banished from the industry. Then what? Nothing has changed.”

“We stay in the game so that we can provide for our family. That's the smart thing to do. The problem arises when the game is being played with rules the rest of the world doesn't understand. The mortgage business, for example. Everybody in the business knew the rules. Everyone was playing by them. Problem was, the little guy on Main Street didn't, so the little guy got burned.”

“And what should he have known? Well, who could answer that? Thought he was closer to all the players than anyone, he still couldn't identify who was responsible and who wasn't. Really responsible, not just "look the other way" responsible. They all were, in some larger sense. And yet, while he knew this was a wholly indefensible position, he felt that somehow none of them were, either. Just like the guys at Lehmen, or Bear Stearns, or AIG. Just like the guys at Delphic. It became a game, a contest; the only rules that governed were what made you money and what didn't. All Paul did was hang the hell on and try not to get thrown.”