In fact the “mask” theme has come up several times in my background reading. Richard Sennett, for example, in “The Corrosion of Character: The Personal Consequences of Work in the New Capitalism”, and Robert Jackall,...

Hey, bodyguard. You better get down to the gymnasium. This jumbo pixie guy is killing your sister.” “Really?” said Butler, unconvinced. “Really. Juliet just does not seem to be herself. She can’t put two moves...

You shouldn’t have to pretend to be as excited as I am just to make me happy. If it comes to that, you shouldn’t have to pretend to be anything around me. Friends should be...

If there’s something I’m not good at, it’s usually because I just organically despise it. I can’t help that. I’m fabulous at too many other things to waste my time faking it.

This was a new skill she’d acquired, the ability to look, to the outside world, utterly serene and even cheerful, while, in her skull, all was chaos.

Will you please take me home?”I peer at her. She’s had, like, two beers. I’ve seen her finish a six-pack in under an hour and not get tipsy.

What’s the whole point of being pretty on the outside when you’re so ugly on the inside?