I read a lot of fiction.

I wasn't trained to write non-fiction.

Loneliness is Europe’s malaria,” Rae said. “No one can really be immune.

Every holiday had a perfect length and then it turned into an indulgence, time sitting heavy on idle hands, the mind free to find fault with life left behind, too much friction between people, familiarity turning to contempt. Every holiday was a threat.

As if reading his mind, Jamal-al-Din said, ‘To get what you love, you must first be patient with what you hate.

Perhaps we half and halfs should always make a choice, one nationality instead of the other, one language instead of the other. We should nourish one identity and starve the other so that it would atrophy and drop off. Then we could relax and become like everyone else, we could snuggle up to the majority and fit in.

I wanted to be good but I wasn’t sure if I was prepared.

I must settle for freedom in this modern time.

All through life there were distinctions – toilets for men, toilets for women; clothes for men, clothes for women – then, at the end, the graves are identical.

Control yourself, it is not worth it. You will regret your rudeness afterwards, your sensitive nature will be troubled.