Susie

“The Casino, he said, "has long been an honoroable, useful, beloved, admired, valuable and even historic monument... The Park Commissioner has no more power to destroy the Casino than he has to destroy the... treasured relics of generations here. He is only to hold office for a brief term. He is the passing creature of a day. He will in time, and that no long, be superseded. He may no 'waste' the heritage of New York. In the meantime... he must restrain his extravagant, excessive energy and zeal or he must be restrained.”
― Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York

“When of a sudden Old Japan intervenes: from on of the apartments wafts a melody, clearly, joyfully distinct. Someone is playing a classical piece on the piano. Ah, sweet, impromptu moment, lifting the veil of melancholy... In a split second of eternity, everything is changed, transfigured. A few bars of music, rising from an unfamiliar piece, a touch of perfection in the flow of human dealings-- I lean my head slowly to one side, reflect on the camellia on the moss of the temple, reflect on a cup of tea, while outside the wind is rustling the foliage, the forward rush of life is crystallized in a brilliant jewel of a moment that knows neither projects nor future, human destiny is rescued from the pale succession of days, glows with light at last and, surpassing time, warms my tranquil heart.”
― Muriel Barbery, The Elegance of the Hedgehog

“When Manuela arrives, my loge is transformed into a palace, and a picnic between two pariahs becomes the feast of two monarchs. Like a storyteller transforming life into a shimmering river where trouble and boredom vanish far below the water, Manuela metamorphoses our existence into a warm and joyful epic.”
― Muriel Barbery; trans. by Alison Anderson, The Elegance of the Hedgehog

“Teas and mangas instead of coffee and newspapers: something elegant and enchanting, instead of adult power struggles and their sad aggressiveness.”
― Muriel Barbery; trans. by Alison Anderson