“If music can shine, Sophie thought, this music shone... 'It's like eight thousand birds, Charles!' When the music closed, she clapped until the rest of the audience had stopped and until her hands were hot and blotched with red... There… — Katherine Rundell Copy Share Image
“She hated official letters. They made her feel nervous. The people who wrote them sounded like they had filing cabinets where their hearts should… — Katherine Rundell Copy Share
It's like eight thousand birds, Charles! Charles! Isn't it like eight thousand birds? — Katherine Rundell Copy Share
“Perhaps, she thought, that’s what love does. It’s not there to make you feel special. It’s to make you brave. It was like a… — Katherine Rundell Copy Share
“Why didn’t she keep looking?” “My darling, because she is an adult.” Sophie ducked behind her hair. Her face was hot and tight and… — Katherine Rundell Copy Share
“When Sophie had first learned to read, Charles had kept the whisky in a bottle labeled CAT'S URINE, so that Sophie would not touch… — Katherine Rundell Copy Share
“Keep you secret, then, my darling. Everybody needs them. Secrets make you tough, and wily.” — Katherine Rundell Copy Share
“Quite suddenly Sophie couldn't bear it. She pelted up to her bedroom, tripping over the stairs. The tears in her eyes were making the… — Katherine Rundell Copy Share
“The baby was almost certainly one year old. They knew this because of the red rosette pinned to her front, which read, 1! "Or… — Katherine Rundell Copy Share
“But it's a child ! You're a man !" "Your powers of observation are formidable," said Charles. "You are a credit to your optician.” — Katherine Rundell Copy Share
“If you have money to waste on wishes, you don't need the wishes as badly as I need the money.” — Katherine Rundell Copy Share
I do, I’m afraid, understand books far more readily than I understand people. Books are so easy to get along with. — Katherine Rundell Copy Share
“Adults are taught not to believe anything unless it is boring or ugly.” — Katherine Rundell Copy Share
