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"The Wu Wei approach to conflict-solving can be seen in the practice of the Taoist martial art...the basic idea of which is to wear the opponent out either by sending his energy back at him or by deflecting it away...Never it is force opposed with force; instead, it is overcome with yielding." p. 87

"I have hated the words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right." P. 402/424

Standing above him at all moments was the hand of time, and it didn't hesitate to wring him out. It smiled and squeezed and let him live. What great malice there could be in allowing something to live...p. 188

Steadily, the room shrank, till the book thief could touch the shelves within a few small steps. She ran the back of her hand along the first shelf, listening to the shuffle of her fingernails gliding across the spinal cord of each book. It sounded like an instrument, or the notes of running feet. p. 110

So what happened, Mr. Patel? We're puzzled. Everything was normal and the...?
Then normal sank." p. 353

"I know what you want. You want a story that won't surprise you. That will confirm what you already know. That won't make you see higher or further or differently. You want a flat story. An immobile story. You want dry, yeast less factuality." P. 344

The worst pair of opposites is boredom and terror. Sometimes life is a pendulum swing from one to the other.

"And I survived because I made it a point of forgetting. My story started on calendar day-July 2nd,1977 and ended on calendar day -February 14th 1978- but in between there was no calendar. I did not count the days or weeks or months. Time is an illusion that only makes us pant. I survived because I forgot even the notion of time."

Quickly you make rash decisions. You dismiss your last allies: hope and trust. There, you've defeated yourself. Fear, which is but an impression, has triumphed over you.

"I'm tired of trying to hold things together that cannot be held. Trying to control what cannot be controlled. I am tired of denying myself what I want for fear of breaking things I cannot fix. They will break no matter what we do."

That's the Wishing Tree. It's lovely, the way wishes are added to it, by lighting candles with ones that are already lit and adding them to the branches. New wishes ignited by old wishes

And so, in that Greek letter that looks like shake with corrugated Tim roof, in that illusive, rational number with which scientists try to understand the universe, I found refuge. p.35

"My fingers, which a second before had been taste buds savouring the food a little ahead of my mouth, became dirty under his gaze. They froze like criminals caught in the act...he had no idea how those words wounded me. They were like nails driven into my flesh." P. 14

Done!!

Very detailed narrative but I'm loving it

Loving this book! A bit slow at the beginning because the narrator is very detailed about her setting an character descriptions; in part is very helpful since it allows the reader to create a better picture, but it also slows down the plot sequence. Overall, however, it's a great read.

I love it!!