“...was an elegant woman in a city of so many thousands of elegant women...”

“Far outside the city the tree frogs were calling her, and the deep, rhythmic pulse of their voices set the blood flow to her heart.”

“There was no one clear point of loss. It happened over and over again in a thousand small ways and the only truth there was to learn was that there was no getting used to it.”

“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 see many shy terrorists.”

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