Three O'Clock in the Morning: A Novel

“Fitzgerald was a great writer and an unhappy man. There’s a sentence of his I often think about: ‘In a real dark night of the soul it is always three o’clock in the morning.’”

“Kill time, what a stupid phrase,” my father said. “We don’t need to kill it, it passes by itself; it doesn’t need any help from us.”

The hotel was in an unremarkable modern building, definitely more comfortable than the one we’d been in the first time. It was close to the Canebière, the most famous street in Marseilles, which links the middle-class neighborhood of Réformés to the Vieux Port.

“The nice thing about jazz is its imperfection. Imperfection in the etymological sense of the word.” “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” “Perfect comes from the Latin perficere, to do something completely. Imperfection, in the etymological sense, is that which isn’t complete. Incompleteness distinguishes jazz from any other kind of music. In

All teenagers suffer from the same schizophrenia. They do all they can to be the same and dream of being different.

“I can’t remember how long it’s been since I had two whole days in front of me with no commitments, no obligations, nothing particular to do. That’s what’s strange.” I turned to him. “You know, when I look at you grown-ups, I think you’re trapped by things you don’t actually care about. How does that happen? When does it happen?” He pulled himself

“Why did you make me draw you?” I asked when it was clear that he wanted to hear me ask it. He smiled, as if playing a little game. “For many years I’ve been trying to study the possible links between epilepsy and talent, especially artistic talent. I’ve written a number of articles on the subject. Many great people were epileptics.” “Who were epil

There are occasions when you need to talk, and you mustn’t take anything for granted. Then there are other occasions when you have to keep silent because there’s something intangible, something precious in the air, and your words might dispel it in an instant. These are two simple concepts. The hard part is to know when to apply one rule and when t

The calanque of Morgiou, which was bigger than the others, had a marina with boats and a little fishing village.