"Maria-nunziata seemed taller than she was because of her high-heeled shoes, which were awful to work in, but she loved wearing them."
Riviera Stories, Adam, One Afternoon, p. 4

"Maria-nunziata wasn't sure if she was frightened because they were frogs, or because they were male and female stuck together."
Riviera Stories, Adam, One Afternoon, pp. 12-13

"Happiness, for Usnelli, was a suspended condition, to be lived holding your breath."
Stories of Love and Loneliness, The Adventure of a Poet, p. 284

"Federico's days in his own city went by nervously, like the hours of someone between trains who, as he goes about his business, cannot stop thinking of the schedule."
Stories of Love and Loneliness, The Adventure of a Traveler, p. 236

"She wondered how long the umbra had been swimming around bearing that pain.
Riviera Stories, Big Fish, Little Fish, p. 44

"And in that dimple beneath the ear a vein...