“ The mind has a mind of its own. It shows us pictures. Pictures of the past and the might-one-day-be. This mind's mind exerts its own will, too, and has its own voice. David Mitchell
“ That’s the problem with boys: They tend to help you only ’cause they fancy you, but there’s no unembarrassing way to find out their real motives till it’s too late. David Mitchell
“ Strip back the beliefs pasted on by governesses, schools, and states, you find indelible truths at one's core. Rome'll decline and fall again, Cortes'll lay Tenochtitlan to waste again, and later...th… David Mitchell
“ So, I asked ’gain, is it better to be savage’n to be Civ’lized?List’n, savages an’ Civ’lizeds ain’t divvied by tribes or b’liefs or mountain ranges, nay, ev’ry human is both, yay. Old Uns’d got the Sm… David Mitchell
“ So where did you go, Holly? Rafiq never tires of this conversation, no matter how often we do it. Everywhere, says Lorelei, being brave and selfless. Colombia, Australia, China, Iceland, Old New York.… David Mitchell
“ She has four sons, Nurse Purvis leads me on, all with a London post code, but they never visit. You’d think old age was a criminal offense, not a destination we’re all heading to. I consider airing my… David Mitchell
“ Psychological complexity, character development, the killer line to end a scene, villains blotched with virtue, heroic characters speckled with villainy, foreshadow and backflash, artful misdirection. David Mitchell
“ No wonder it's all such a fucking mess. I divided up my possible futures, put them into separate accounts, and now they're all spent. Big thoughts for a bent little lawyer. David Mitchell
“ No organist played a Magnificat but the wind in the flue chimney, no choir sang a Nunc Dimittis but the wuthering gulls, yet I fancy the Creator was not displeazed. David Mitchell
“ Mortality is inscribed in your cellular structure, and you say you’re not ill? Look at the painting. Look at it. She nods towards The Adoration of the Magi. I obey. I always will. Thirteen subjects, i… David Mitchell
“ Mariângela says that the best way to work with dementia is to act as if the person you knew is still inside the wreckage. If you’re wrong, and the person you knew is gone, then no damage is done but t… David Mitchell
“ Linnaeus's last lesson, of which he himself was unaware, was that professorships kill philosophers. Oh, I'm vain enough to want my burgeoning Flora Japonica to be published one day--as a votive offeri… David Mitchell
“ Let me write about an Icelandic road trip; a running man; backflashes galore; and slowly disclose what it is he’s running from. Bring him to Ásbyrgi; mention how the ravine was formed by a slammed-dow… David Mitchell
“ Leave Ueno Station through the park entrance, go past the concert hall and museums, skirt around the fountain, and you come to a sort of tree garden. Homeless people live here, in tents made of sky-bl… David Mitchell
“ Lavender's my favorite scent, after White-Out and bacon rind. I sat down on the steps, not sure where to go next. A July afternoon yawned. Mirage puddles'd shimmered on the Welland road as I rode here… David Mitchell
“ Killing depends on circumstances, as you'd expect, whether it's a cold, planned murder, or a hot death in a fight, or inspired by honor or a more shameful motive. However many times you kill, though,… David Mitchell
“ Just as I was flung over the threshold, I embraced Grigoire the Swiss Fiancé in a rugger grip, determined that smug cockatoo was coming with me...Stone steps and icy pavements bruised my own flesh as… David Mitchell
“ I’m not in the Scouts any more,’ I remind her. Mr Moody our scoutmaster told me to get lost, so I did, and it took the Snowdonia mountain rescue service two days to find my shelter. I’d been on the lo… David Mitchell
“ I’d love to know how Dad saw me when I was a kid. I’d love to know a hundred things. When a parent dies, a filing cabinet full of all the fascinating stuff also ceases to exist. I never imagined how h… David Mitchell
“ I’d always worried but kissing’s not so tricky. Your lips know what to do, just like sea anemones know what to do. David Mitchell
