"He was the kind of man who was embarrassed to reveal his own feelings openly in words or on his face, the kind of husband who hoped for a relationship in which his wife would understand him even if he did not utter a word." —Chapter One, The Case of Isobe, page 12

"Even at that time, unlike her school-friends who thought only of the commonplace lives they would be leading in the years ahead, she had wanted to live fully." —Chapter Two, The Informational Meeting, page 33

"Whenever the young men told her she held her liquor well, or that her car was flashy, a feeling something like anger or desolation directed toward herself but inexpressible in words issued forth from he depths of her heart." —Chapter Three, The Case of Mitsuko, page 35

"Just what is it you want? Mitsuko inwardly flung the question at the...