“When you’re twenty-four,” Marla says, “you have no idea how far you can really fall, but I was a fast learner.”

“Either you came in here a swimmer or you'd better be a really fast learner”

“Why should I believe any of this?' It happens that fast. I say, because I think I like you. Marla says, 'Not love?'This is a cheesy enough moment, I say. Don't push it.”

“what if you could have all the wisdom of a lifetime and still look like you looked when you were twenty-five''or what?' I say.'what, what' she says.I say, 'I thought we were playing Would You Rather...?'She twists her head like a dog at a foghorn. 'Marla,' I say, 'you get the wisdom because you don't anymore look like you did when you were twenty-five.'She says, 'You don't understand the rules to this game.”

“A hungry man can be a fast learner. When you come to a table with nothing but need, you are grateful for things you might have pushed aside before. And when you kneel, hungry & broken at His table, you receive a grace from Him you might, at some other time, have completely missed.”

“You are a slow learner, Winston.""How can I help it? How can I help but see what is in front of my eyes? Two and two are four.""Sometimes, Winston. Sometimes they are five. Sometimes they are three. Sometimes they are all of them at once. You must try harder. It is not easy to become sane.”