Love & Lignin

“There is an instant, the blink of an eye, when girls blossom suddenly into roses. Yesterday when you left them they were still children, today you find them downright disturbing.” Les Misérables by Victor Hugo, p580

“But what pleases us in those on the way up, does not please us as much when they are on the way down. We don’t like fighting unless there is danger; and, in any case, only those who have fought from the very beginning have the right to annihilate at the very end. A man who has not been a relentless opponent in fair weather, when the enemy is at his peak, should keep quiet in foul, when the enemy collapses. Only the man who has denounced the enemy’s success can legitimately proclaim the justice of his downfall.” “Les Miserables” by Victor Hugo, p42

“Oh, Thou who art!
Ecclesiastes names you the Almighty; the Maccabees name you the Creator; the Epistle to the Ephesians names you Liberty; Baruch names you Immensity; the Psalms name you Wisdom and Truth; John names you Light, the Book of Kings names you Lord; Exodus call you Providence; Leviticus, Holiness; Esdras, Justice; Creation names you God, mankind names you Father; but Solomon names you Mercy and of all your names, that is the most beautiful.” “Les Miserables” by Victor Hugo, p18

“By now, Billy and Evelyn were used to seeing their daughter in his embrace, used to seeing them kiss. They knew by the quality of the touch that she had done right and was lucky, and at twelve-thirty, as the doorman at 333 Central Park West held the door open longer than he had thought he would have to, Catherine and Henry embraced in air that was now midnight blue.” “In Sunlight and In Shadow” by Mark Helprin, p361

“I remember. He said, ‘That’s Henry Stimson’s yacht, Evelyn’— my mother’s name is Evelyn— ‘and if the secretary of war turns on his lights like a Christmas tree in the middle of the ocean, the war’s over.’” In Sunlight and In Shadow by Mark Helprin, p118

“Like the atom, which in its internal bonds contains the essence of matter and energy, in her glance, the sparkle of her eye, the grasp of her hand, the elasticity of her hair in motion, the way she stands, the blush of her cheek, sweep of her shoulder, tone of her voice, and snap of her locket, a woman is the spur and essence of existence.” In Sunlight and In Shadow by Mark Helprin, p75

“He had been waiting for her the longest time, although he had not known he had been waiting.” In Sunlight and In Shadow by Mark Helprin, p31

“As the ferry started to move and the wind came up, the sun broke out. And when the harbor appeared she stepped towards him, moving in the direction of their travel. Not taking her eyes from his, she held her right hand within reach for him to grasp, which he did, as if in a formal introduction. To touch her hand was overwhelming. And then, in the most beautiful voice he had ever heard, she said the most beautiful word he had ever heard: ‘Catherine.’” In Sunlight and In Shadow by Mark Helprin, p30

“Fifty years ago, Laurel told a distant patch of stars, my mother killed a man. She called it self-defense, but I saw it. She raised the knife and brought it down and the man fell backwards onto the ground where the grass was worn and the violets were flowering. She knew him, she was frightened, and I’ve no idea why….” “The Secret Keeper” by Kate Morton, p 70

“The boulevard du Cange was a broad, quiet street that marked the eastern flank of the city of Amiens.” First sentence of Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks, p9