"There is an echo to people's passing, a wake in the air that says more about them than can be said in speech, a fragile signal that doormen learn to read as if everyone who disappears into the turbulence of the city is on a journey to the land of the dead." chap. 1, p. 9

"He drew back a little as he surveyed her—a lovely task—as if trying to solve a riddle. 'You're flushed with sun. You were on the beach.' She seemed pleased by his desire to work through this. 'You weren't waiting for a boat, were you?' She brightened, impressed by his sharpness." chap. 3, p.33

"The higher she climbed, the more the activity below, seen through a black matrix of ropes, bars, wires, and flats, seemed like a miniature city itself." chap. 5, p. 52

"He wanted to kiss her right there as...