“At least she was not a tall woman. She was a pixie, a pocket Venus.”

“It's easier to love a woman when you can't understand a word she's saying.”

“You don't find strangers declaring themselves to you awkward?' But then she wouldn't, would she? People must fall in love with her hourly. She must keep a staff of translators to interpret the proposals of love and marriage.'It's easier to love a woman when you can't understand a word she's saying,' Roxane said.”

“Instead, he was astonished by what he had: the chance to sit beside this woman in the late afternoon light while she read.”

“Thank God Roxane Coss had not fallen in love with one of the Russians. She doubted they could make it up the stairs without stopping for a cigarette and telling at least one loud story that no one could understand.”

“She sang as if she was saving the life of every person in the room.”

“Carmen prayed hard. She prayed while standing near the priest in hopes it would give her request extra credibility. What she prayed for was nothing. She prayed that God would look on them and see the beauty of their existence and leave them alone.”