A beautiful tale, and the detail of the characters, their surroundings and the history throughout the book made me often wonder if it was actually a biography!
The entire story is a eloquently walk through a character's life whose choses to made the best of what they have, and left me wanting to see things the same in my.own daily life.
17 Highlight(s)
The books the bellhops had lugged to the attic had been his father's and, devoted as they were to studies of rational philosophy and the science of modern agriculture, each promised heft and threatened impenetrability.
"The principle here is that a new generation owes a measure of thanks to every member of the previous generation. Our elders planted fields and fought in wars; they advanced the arts and sciences, and generally made sacrifices on our behalf. So by their efforts, however humble, they have earned a measure of our gratitude and respect."
"Manners are not like bonbons, Nina. You may not choose the ones that suit you best; and you certainly cannot put the half-bitten ones back in the box. . . ."
For that matter, what can a first impression tell us about anyone? Why, no more than a chord can tell us about Beethoven,
"One thousand one hundred and seventy-three." "How do you know it isn't prime?" "If a number's individual digits sum to a number that is divisible by three, then it too is divisible by three."
After all, exile was the punishment that God meted out to Adam in the very first chapter of the human comedy;
infantry—having learned from experience that victory on the field of battle begins with the shine on a boot.
What was it about this child that prompted a grown man to count so carefully the minutes until lunch? Did she prattle on nonsensically? Did she flit about giggling? Did she dissolve into tears or launch into tantrums at the slightest provocation? On the contrary. She was quiet. Unsettlingly so.
"She is no more than thirty pounds; no more than three feet tall; her entire bag of belongings could fit in a single drawer; she rarely speaks unless spoken to; and her heart beats no louder than a bird's. So how is it possible that she takes up so much space?!"
(After all, isn't that why the pages of books are numbered? To facilitate the finding of one's place after a reasonable interruption?)
when Fate hands something down to posterity, it does so behind its back."
"Perhaps it is a matter of celestial balance," he reflected. "A sort of cosmic equilibrium. Perhaps the aggregate experience of Time is a constant and thus for our children to establish such vivid impressions of this particular June, we must relinquish our claims upon it."
For what matters in life is not whether we receive a round of applause; what matters is whether we have the courage to venture forth despite the uncertainty of acclaim."
They answered the phone on the first ring, scanned the headlines, limited their conversations to whatever was most germane, and generally spent their days in pursuit of the second hand.
knowing full well that distress was no friend to recollection.
But at forty? They had enough appetite to eat well, enough temperance to drink in moderation, and enough wisdom to celebrate the absence of their children by getting a good night's sleep.
A man of discretion and civility, Andrey did not for one second consider saying: I told you so. Although with a smile he did observe: "So it seems . . ."