Muriel Barbery, The Elegance of the Hedgehog

"We can be friends. We can be anything we want to be."

"I thought: pity the poor in spirit who know neither the enchantment nor the beauty of language."

"To be poor, ugly and, moreover, intelligent condemns one in our society to a dark and disillusioned life...to beauty all is forgiven."

"Personally I think that grammar is a way to attain beauty."

"We can be friends. We can be anything we want to be."