It was with her, after all, that his identity had been forged: if she no longer recognised him, then who was he?

obverse

proffered

temerity

serried

she had a number of warts on her face that sprouted coarse black hairs of an extraordinary girth and length, and my neighbour had been mesmerised his whole life by this feature, which was still real to him though Irini had been dead for thirty years and which symbolised the enduring nature of repulsion, while beauty was seen once and never seen

reticence

the woman painter comes to feel that her own work is merely decorative, a pastime, while her husband’s is considered not just by him but by the world to be important, to forge events rather than simply provide a commentary on them,

There’s a business aspect to running a household. It’s best if everyone’s honest right at the start about what they’re going to need, to be able to stay in it.