“ That's one of the things I hope that the book can do, is to restore some dignity to Joe Cinque. Helen Garner
“ The rain began again. It fell heavily, easily, with no meaning or intention but the fulfilment of its own nature, which was to fall and fall. Helen Garner
“ It's very shocking, I think, for people caring for the dying to realise how unsaintly they feel, how much anger is mixed up with their grief. In fact, often I think the anger that they feel is a form… Helen Garner
“ Mrs Thatcher has told one of her interviewers that she had nothing to say to her mother after she reached the age of fifteen. Such a sad, blunt confession it seems, and yet not a few of us could make… Helen Garner
“ I suppose there must be idiots who dream of signing deals with publishers while fully intending to drink martinis in cool bars or ride around on skateboards. But the actual writers I know are experts… Helen Garner
“ I had always thought that sorrow was the most exhausting of the emotions. Now I knew that it was anger. Helen Garner
