Renee

“Tilting his head back he slowly released an enormous quantity of smoke from his mouth and drew it up through his nostrils. He continued to smoke in this "French-inhale" style. Very probably, it was not part of the sofa vaudeville of a showoff but, rather, the private, exposed achievement of a young man who, at one time or another, might have tried shaving himself left-handed.”
― J.D. Salinger, Nine Stories

“The worst thing that being an artist could do to you would be that it would make you slightly unhappy constantly.”
― J.D. Salinger, Nine Stories

“I want to take away your sunshine, Lukas. Not because I'm evil but because the sun can't exist without shadows. I want to examine the lie that keeps you afloat--the idea that it's wonderful to be Lukas, that it's splendid to be the tsar's favorite dwarf, that there's nothing better to do than bring crackers to Menshikov like some kind of dog. When does it hurt the most, Lukas? That's what I'd like to know. What hurts you more than anything else? Is it when the tsar mocks you? Or is it when he can't remember your name? Is it when he forgets all about your for a year or two? When are you going to curse Peter Alexeyevich to Hell, Lukas? That's what I'd like to know. I want to get behind that smile of yours, and your clown's heart. And then I'll console you when you fall apart--I'll console you when you realize that you are infinitely unloved.
At that moment I'll be at your side, but no before.
Not a moment before.”
― Peter H. Fogtdal, The Tsar's Dwarf: A Novel

“There is no imagination in the world. A person like me is basically alone. If I want to live in the same world as other people I have to make a special effort.”
― Victor Lodato, Mathilda Savitch