The Tsar of Love and Techno

by Anthony Marra

You remain the hero of your own story even when you become the villain of someone else’s.

The portrait artist must acknowledge human complexity with each brushstroke. The eyes, nose, and mouth that compose a sitter’s face, just like the suffering and joy that compose his soul, are similar to those of ten million others yet still singular to him. This acknowledgment is where art begins. It may also be where mercy begins.

the obvious is only obvious when it happens to someone else.

We’ve all ended up with men we’d pity others for marrying.

The soreness in Kolya’s heels is less a physical pain than a physical fact he’s as familiar with as the color of his eyes.

Believing in the unconditional love of a woman he’s never seen, never met, is the closest he’s ever felt to God’s grace.

What do you want?” Everything, now, without working, waiting, or doing.

There are so many paths to contentment if you’re open to self-delusion.

What an improbable thing it was to be alive on Earth.