People could not get enough of what they had lost, even if they no longer wanted it.

Being a teacher at a restaurant in the town where you lived was a little like being a TV star.

While it's true that some writers, when taking on love and war, find the task too big, or only succeed in one but not the other, Mengestu tracks both themes with authority and feeling.

Good writing is good writing, and I'm so happy when I read it.

You had only one chance for a signature in life, but most people left no impression.

The child who was happy with herself meant the parents had won the jackpot.

For me, a novel relying too heavily on a single idea might be a dry, deadly thing unless it possesses an animating force.

People like to warn you that by the time you reach the middle of your life, passion will begin to feel like a meal eaten long ago, which you remember with great tenderness.

After a certain age, you felt a need not to be alone. It grew stronger, like a radio frequency, until finally it was so powerful that you were forced to do something about it.

Wasn't the whole point of being an artist, or at least part of it, that you didn't have to wear a tie?

The generation that had information, but no context. Butter, but no bread. Craving, but no longing.

Opera is when a guy gets stabbed in the back and, instead of bleeding, he sings.

The moon is the lighthouse of love, and as changing as a woman's mind.

I’m not just a face, or a body. I’m a Havisham.

Without any hope you cannot talk about suffering. If you talk about suffering without hope it's enjoying our euthanization. I tried to avoid euthanization enjoyment.

He makes it look easy. You wish there was another league he could get called up to.

Life is hard. And we better laugh at everything, otherwise we're going down the tube.

You've got to be actively involved in the process yourself and you've got to listen carefully to what the coach is saying, take that on board yourself and implement what the coach is saying.

With every choice you make, be conscious of what need it serves.

I've learned to always avoid saying "always"

In drawing, nothing is better than the first attempt.