Thierry Sagnier > Quotes

“For Jeanot reading and writing were as basic as breathing. Without reading to help him escape, the world became paler on the brightest day, and most things stopped making sense. In America, where logic was hard to find, reading was a necessity.”
― Thierry Sagnier, L'Amerique: A Novel

“They reminisced about the war. Cecile told of farmers she knew, neighbors who kept to themselves and sold produce to the Germans, even as they sheltered a family of seven Jews in a root cellar below their barn. At war's end, the family was accused of being collaborators but the testimony of the Jews made them heroes instead. The family said they had lived in the cellar for two-and-a-half years and had never missed a meal. They were fed richly, given wine, eggs and fresh vegetables. They also claimed to have heard the farmer's voice only three times in all those years. When the village mayor sought to decorate him, the farmer refused to be either honored or thanked. He did not change his silent ways and quietly returned to growing artichokes and spinach.”
― Thierry Sagnier, L'Amerique: A Novel