“He looked down and did something quite out of character for him: he took hold of Shmuel's tiny hand in his and squeezed it tightly."You're my best friend, Shmuel," he said. "My best friend for life.”
“You’re my best friend, Shmuel,’ he said. ‘My best friend for life.”
“Herschel was a Jew.""And he was my best friend.""He was his best friend.""And I murdered him.”
“...Despite the mayhem that followed, Bruno found that he was still holding Shmuel's hand in his own and nothing in the world would have persuaded him to let go.”
“You're nice,' Cushie told him, squeezing his hand. 'And you're my oldest friend.' But they both must have known that you can know someone all your life and never quite be friends.”
“And then the room went very dark and somehow, despite the chaos that followed, Bruno found that he was still holding Shmuel's hand in his own and nothing in the world would have persuaded him to let it go.”