Flossie Mcnabb

“Every immigrant family, it seems, has someone who does not belong in the new country they have come to. It feels like permanent exile to that one brother or wife who cannot stand a silent fate in Boston or London or Melbourne. I’ve met many who remain haunted by the persistent ghost of an earlier place.”
― Michael Ondaatje, The Cat's Table

“What is interesting and important happens mostly in secret, in places where there is no power. Nothing much of lasting value ever happens at the head table, held together by a familiar rhetoric. Those who already have power continue to glide along the familiar rut they have made for themselves.”
― Michael Ondaatje, The Cat's Table

“There is a story, always ahead of you. Barely existing. Only gradually do you attach yourself to it and feed it. You discover the carapace that will contain and test your character. You will find in this way the path of your life.”
― Michael Ondaatje, The Cat's Table

“she had a laugh that hinted it had rolled around once or twice in the mud.”
― Michael Ondaatje, The Cat's Table