“Each has his past shut in him like the leaves of a book known to him by heart and his friends can only read the title.”

“He ran his finger down the hardcover keyboard of book spines. Individual memories of each, particularly his first experience with every title, burned through him”

“There are three infallible ways of pleasing an author, and the three form a rising scale of compliment: 1, to tell him you have read one of his books; 2, to tell him you have read all of his books; 3, to ask him to let you read the manuscript of his forthcoming book. No. 1 admits you to his respect; No. 2 admits you to his admiration; No. 3 carries you clear into his heart.”

“A raznochinets needs no memory—it is enough for him to tell of the books he has read, and his biography is done.”

“Heart broken-he felt a deep ache in his chest, like that of a sore muscle, and each beat of his heart pained him”

“The Snow Leopard’s Tale is mesmeric. Tom McIntyre has compressed so many things into so few pages that I can think of only a few other short books that can compare. It was worth the wait for all of us who look forward to reading anything with his name under the title.”