“At a certain point, a smile could be the meanest thing ever”

“At a certain point, you must be able to slip loose. At a certain point, you found that you had been set free. You could be anyone, he thought.You could be anyone.”

“At a certain point your brain stops to rationalize things. At a certain point it gives up, shuts off, shuts down.”

“For all cats have this particularity, each and every one, from the meanest alley sneaker to the proudest, whitest she that ever graced a pontiff's pillow — we have our smiles, as it were, painted on. Those small, cool, quite Mona Lisa smiles that smile we must, no matter whether it's been fun or it's been not. So all cats have a politician's air; we smile and smile and so they think we're villains”

“… not like any smile i had ever experienced before. but such a smile! you could burn a hole in the world with that smile”

“Was parenting ever going to get easier? Did you ever reach a point where you could stop worrying?”