Amber

“We drank our coffee the Russian way. That is to say we had vodka before it and vodka afterwards.”
― Philip Sington, The Valley of Unknowing

“Old Prague was a story-book city caked in grime: ancient, soot-blackened. History lived in every detail: in the deerstalker rooftops and the blue-sparking trams. He wandered the streets in disbelief, photographing everything, images from Kafka crowding into his head. With the turn of every corner it came back to him: the special frisson you get behind enemy lines.”
― Philip Sington, Zoia's Gold

“He reached into the grate, picked out a couple of scraps, smoothed them out, leaning close to the flickering light. He was curious to see what it was Zoia had decided to destroy.”
― Philip Sington, Zoia's Gold

“All writers are insecure, the male ones especially. It's well known. Why else would they spend so much time on make-believe? They're only happy in their imaginary worlds, because that's where they're in charge - where they're God. Did you know that Hemingway's mother dressed him as a girl until he was six years old?"
I was not offended by Claudia's glib psychological theory. Like many glib psychological theories, it struck me as fundamentally correct.”
― Philip Sington, The Valley of Unknowing