“You see?
If Mrs. Trent had not so perfectly mastered the art of roasting, the young lieutenant might have kept his attention on the Princess instead of washing down a third helping of beef with an eighth glass of wine. If the temperature that night had not dropped six degrees in as many hours, the ice might not have formed in the drive, your portly friend might not have fallen, and the card game might not have been played. And if the sight of snow had not prompted the footmen to build the fires so high, you might not have ended up on the terrace in the arms of the birthday girl – as a young Hussar returned his supper to the pasture from whence it came.”

– Amor Towles
A Gentleman in Moscow, p. 150

“An extraordinary book!” – Indy Beagle