Intimacy - Hanif Kureishi

Silence, like darkness, can be kind; it, too, is a language.  Couples have good reason for not speaking.

Their reluctance to go to sleep I don't understand.  For months the highlight of my day has been the anticipation of unconsciousness.

Ambition without imagination is always clumsy.

"But marriage is a battle, a terrible journey, a season in hell and a reason for living.  You need to be equipped in all areas, not just the sexual."
"Yes," I said, dully. "I know."
Oh to be equipped in all areas.

No wonder everyone wants it - as if they have known such love before and can barely remember it, yet are compelled ever after to seek it as the single thing worth living for.  Without love, most of life remains concealed.  Nothing is as fascinating as love, unfortunately.

I know love is dark work; you have to get your hands dirty.  If you hold back, nothing interesting happens.  At the same time, you have to find the right distance between people.  Too close, and they overwhelm you; too far and they abandon you.

She is of a disapproving generation of women.  She thinks she's a feminist but she's just bad-tempered.

Suddenly I had the feeling that everything was as it should be and nothing could add to this happiness or contentment.  This was all that there was, and all that could be.  The best of everything had accumulated in this moment.  It could only have been love.