Ann Patchett: "Most of the time..."

"Most of the time we’re loved for what we can do rather than for who we are. It’s not such a bad thing, being loved for what you can do… but the other is better."

—Ann Patchett, Bel Canto 

Ann Patchett: "When you think of..."

"When you think of love you think as an American. You must think like a Russian. It is a more expansive view."

—Ann Patchett, Bel Canto 

Ann Patchett: "Not everyone can be..."

"Not everyone can be the artist. There have to be those who witness the art, who love and appreciate what they have been privileged to see."

—Ann Patchett, Bel Canto 

Ann Patchett: "Never had he thought..."

"Never had he thought, never once, that such a woman existed, one who stood so close to God that God’s own voice poured from her."

—Ann Patchett, Bel Canto