“I was convinced that birds were kinds of souls. Not the souls of people but of previous birds whose mystery and beauty were so necessary on earth that God would not allow them to be anything in their second life but birds again.”

“There’s a Russian proverb: To taste the ocean, all you need is one gulp.”

“My mother and Alexis had said no more than ten words to each other. The long silences were deafening”

“I was convinced that birds were kinds of souls. Not the souls of people but of previous birds whose mystery and beauty were so necessary on earth that God would not allow them to be anything in their second life but birds again.”