Surely it is a magical thing for a handful of words, artfully arranged, to stop time. To conjure place, a person, a situation, in all its specificity… - Jhumpa Lahiri

The knowledge of death seemed present in both sisters — it was something about the way they carried themselves, something that had broken too soon and had not mended, marking them in spite of their lightheartedness.

My grandfather always says that's what books are for," Ashoke said, using the opportunity to open the volume in his hands. "To travel without moving an inch.

Every time my surroundings change I feel enormous sadness. It’s not greater when I leave a place tied to memories, grief, or happiness. It’s the change itself that unsettles me, just as liquid in a jar turns cloudy when you shake it. — italo svevo, essays and uncollected writings