"Apparently, my dad had been young once, but I couldn't picture it. Even at the age of fifteen I knew but little about who he was and where he'd come from. And so I knew but little about myself."
Chapter 1, p. 6

"The Ford was a touring car, which meant it had a canvas pull-up roof in case of rain, or for when you spent a night on the road."
Ibid, p. 8

"The paper was loose and peeling on the walls. I wondered how many layers you'd have to scrape away until you came to the time when these old people were young. If they ever were. I wondered how quiet you'd have to be to hear the voices of those times."
Ibid, p. 15

"That was the way with Delphine. You tried to think of ways to please her. I saw that on the first day ... I looked back...