1. ”I was eleven, then I was sixteen. Though no honors came my way, those were the lovely years.”
2. “Life is moderately good play with a badly written third act.”
3. “Love is a chain of love as nature is a chain of life.”
4. "The true beloveds of this world are in their lover's eyes lilacs opening, ship lights, school bells, a landscape, remembered conversations, friends, a child's Sunday, lost voices, one's favorite suit, autumn and all seasons, memory, yes, it being the earth and water of existence, memory."
5. "To me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it's about, but the inner music that words make."
6. "Venice is like eating an entire box of chocolate liqueurs in one go."
7. “Writing has laws of perspective, of light and shade just as painting does, or music. If you are born knowing them, fine. If not, learn them. Then rearrange the rules to suit yourself.”
