“She had storms all her life, but she died peacefully.”

“She felt about a love set as a painter does about his masterpiece; each ace serve was a form of brushwork to her, and her fantastically accurate shot-placing was certainly a study in composition.”

“I keep going over a sentence. I nag it, gnaw it, pat and flatter it.”

“In the history of art there are periods when bread seems so beautiful that it nearly gets into museums.”

“History looks queer when you're standing close to it, watching where it is coming from and how it's being made.”

“Kindness was the last thing she needed. She had to stay in the icy place, the numb place, and their warmth threatened to melt her just when she needed the cold.”

“She was not used to being cruel, but he had taught her how.”