Colum McCann, TransAtlantic Quotes

The world does not turn without moments of grace. Who cares how small.

The luxury of age was the giving up of vanity.

We seldom know what echo our actions will find, but our stories will most certainly outlast us.

It was as if they wanted to take their older bodies and put their younger hearts inside.

An optimist is a braver cynic.

The true nature of a democracy is its ability to say yes when even the powerful say no

His body, his mind, his soul, had, for years, served only for the profit of others. He had his own people to whom he was pledged. Three million. They were the currency of his freedom.

She expected no judgement and wanted no pity.

And there are moments that I would like to know what might have happened if it hadn't happened, and why it happened the way it did, and what it might have taken to prevent it from happening.