“Christmas to a child is the first terrible proof that to travel hopefully is better than to arrive.”

“Wine can be a better teacher than ink, and banter is often better than books”

“You can never hope to recapture the first fine careless rapture”

“Glory never arrives through the front door. She sneaks in uninvited round the back or through an upstairs window while you are sleeping.”

“You think I have more than most people dream of? What other people dream of doesn't matter. I always had less than I ever dreamt of. All I ever dreamt of was family. A father and a mother. Most people don't even need to dream of such luxuries, they take them for granted. That is what I used to dwell on, alone in my bedroom. I dwelt as all children do, on the injustice. Injustice is the most terrible thing in the world, Oliver. Everything that is evil springs from it and only a cheap soul can abide it without anger.”

“First love is unrequited ultimately because it’s so huge.It’s such an act of giving and it requires so much back that it can never be given back. It’s like an atom bomb. It’s like… It’s all the energy of who you are and who you want to be and what you love and what you hope to be explodes. It is impossible for a single... human being to offer that back to you in a mutual way.”

“Better sexy and racyThan sexist and racist”