Jacqueline in Paris Quotes

“Around ten o'clock, we left for the train station, pressing upon the Wagners the little gifts we'd brought--chocolate and cigarettes, bars of soap, and packets of dried fruits--exchanging addresses and promising to write even though we knew we wouldn't. It was one of the great joys of travel, these fleeting exchanges and ephemeral friendships, the way people you met abroad would forever linger in your memories of a place.”
― Ann Mah, Jacqueline in Paris

“...I wondered if I would very stop missing Paris, if I could ever stop aching for its smells, its states, its splendors...Perhaps this was the great love of my life...I've never stopped dreaming of it, never stopped reading French history and novels, watching French films, or devouring French culture--art and fashion and food--never stopped turning to it for inspiration and refuge. In so many ways, it has sustained me.”
― Ann Mah, Jacqueline in Paris

“Humans are sentimental creatures, n’est ce pas?” she said. “We gather mementos to help us recall happy occasions, moments of delight - to remind us of the innocence that exists in the world. My husband used to tease me for hoarding all these bits and pieces. But now I find they’re like a museum of comfort.”
― Ann Mah, Jacqueline in Paris

“I had come to France to discover the place that had existed for so long in my imagination - and in many ways, I had. But I hadn't understood there were other lessons to be learned so far from home: that overseas I was not only a visitor but a guest; not only a student but an envoy; not only an observer but also the observed.”
― Ann Mah, Jacqueline in Paris: A Novel

“...I wondered if I would ever stop missing Paris, if I could ever stop aching for its smells, and states, and splendors. Perhaps this was the great first love of my life...”
― Ann Mah, Jacqueline in Paris

“But I cherished the moments I spent alone, lost in a book, or, more often, my dreams and imagination. More than anything else, they sustained me.”
― Ann Mah, Jacqueline in Paris

“It was one of the great joys of travel, these fleeting exchanges and ephemeral friendships, the way people you met abroad would forever linger in your memories of a place.”
― Ann Mah, Jacqueline in Paris