A Sentence or Two

A New York Times book reviewer wonders if readers have "signature passages in books they love — a sentence or two that seem to convey the essence of a complex, beautiful work?" Web site visitors respond with hundreds of wonderful quotes. I actually keep my own list of eloquent quotes from books. Here is one quote from one of my favorite authors:

Each one of us is alone in the world. He is shut in a tower of brass, and can communicate with his fellows only by signs, and the signs have no common value, so that their sense is vague and uncertain.
The Moon and Sixpence by W. Somerset Maugham.