“He wondered whether it was his fault Roger had the perceptiveness of concrete.” — Helen Simonson Copy Share Image
“Men these days expect their wives to be as dazzling as their mistresses.” — Helen Simonson Copy Share Image
“he had no doubt that spirited debate was the first casualty of any war. —” — Helen Simonson Debate Copy Share Image
“Americans seemed to enjoy the sport of publicly humiliating one another.” — Helen Simonson Americans Copy Share Image
“And after all, everyone needs a few flaws to make them real.” — Helen Simonson Flaws Copy Share Image
“It was an old story so rubbed with retelling that the edges were blurry.” — Helen Simonson Copy Share Image
“There is nothing more corrosive to character than money.” — Helen Simonson Character Copy Share Image
“The human race is all the same when it comes to romantic relations,' said the Major. 'A startling absence of impulse control… — Helen Simonson Birth control Copy Share Image
“You are not the first man to miss a woman's more subtle communication . . . They think they are waving when… — Helen Simonson Communication Copy Share Image
“I am to be converted to the joys of knitting,' said Mrs. Ali, smiling at the Major. 'My condolences,' he said.” — Helen Simonson Happiness Copy Share Image
Only sometimes when we pick and choose among the rules we discover later that we have set aside something precious in the… — Helen Simonson Choice Copy Share Image
“grief does not decline in a straight line or along a slow curve like a graph in a child’s math book.” — Helen Simonson Children Copy Share Image
“Men these days expect their wives to be as dazzling as their mistresses.” That's shocking," said the Major. "How on earth will… — Helen Simonson Humor Copy Share Image
“do you really know what it means to be in love with an unsuitable woman?" "Is there any other kind?” — Helen Simonson Love Copy Share Image
The world is full of small ignorances. We must all do our best to ignore them and thereby keep them small, don't… — Helen Simonson Ignorance Copy Share Image
“I know most people today would regard such love of country as ridiculously romantic and naïve,” he said. “Patriotism itself has been… — Helen Simonson Life Copy Share Image
I later realized that this is my view of passion: It is rooted in genuine friendship. Chemistry may be two strangers exchanging… — Helen Simonson Copy Share Image
“At our age, surely there are better things to sustain us, to sustain a marriage, than the brief flame of passion?" ..."You… — Helen Simonson Better things Copy Share Image
“he realized he had inspired a sense of trust and indebtedness that would make it entirely impossible for an honorable man to… — Helen Simonson Copy Share Image
“He cursed himself for having assumed the weather would be sunny. Perhaps it was the result of evolution, he thought--some adaptive gene… — Helen Simonson Copy Share Image
“It was frustratingly common that children were no sooner gone from the nest and established in their own homes ... than they… — Helen Simonson Children Copy Share Image
“He opened his mouth to say that she looked extremely beautiful and deserved armfuls of roses, but the words were lost in… — Helen Simonson Relationships Copy Share Image
“You are a wise man, Major, and I will consider your advice with great care—and humility." He finished his tea and rose… — Helen Simonson Humor Copy Share Image
“It surprised him that his grief was sharper than in the past few days. He had forgotten that grief does not decline… — Helen Simonson Children Copy Share Image
“He opened the gun box, lifted out the sections of his own gun, for comparison. They slid together with well-oiled clicks. Laying… — Helen Simonson Copy Share Image
“My dear Mrs. Ali, I would hardly refer to you as old," he said. "You are in what I would call the… — Helen Simonson Age Copy Share Image
“He had never imagined so clearly the consequences of mailing a letter—the impossibility of retrieving it from the iron mouth of the… — Helen Simonson Conversation Copy Share Image
“Unlike you, who must do a cost-benefit analysis of every human interaction," he said, "I have no idea what I hope to… — Helen Simonson Thought Copy Share Image
My neighbor Alice Pierce is fond of singing folk music to her garden plants. Thinks it makes them grow or something. The… — Helen Simonson Copy Share Image
“Oh, you're American,' said Mrs. Khan, holding out her hand. 'What a charming costume.' 'The Bengal Lancers were apparently a famous Anglo-Indian… — Helen Simonson Copy Share Image
“She looked at him and he read in her eyes a disappointment that he should have stooped to the dead relative excuse.… — Helen Simonson Copy Share Image
“I do not think you would be so quick to approve if it was your son," he said. The Major frowned as… — Helen Simonson Copy Share Image
“Compounding lack of funds with intelligence, she makes herself unmarriageable.” — Helen Simonson Intelligence Copy Share Image
“There is often an inverse correlation between genius and personal hygiene.” — Helen Simonson Genius Copy Share Image
“and a gibbous moon was making its humpbacked way into the sky.” — Helen Simonson Moon Copy Share Image
“I'm pretty sure wars would be shorter if we weren't all so eager to read about them.” — Helen Simonson Peace Copy Share Image
“...as I get older, I find myself insisting on my right to be philosophically sloppy.” — Helen Simonson Copy Share Image
