At twilight in the summer there is never anybody to fear—man, woman, or cat—in the chambers and at that hour the mice come out. They do not eat parchment or foolscap or red tape, but they eat the luncheon crumbs.

Even Hoxha's wife, Nexhmije (whose name is genuine onomatopoesy) , contributes by attacking the parasitic, opportunistic tendencies of Albanian youth.

Beautiful, charming, rich, clever Caitlin needs one thing: love.

The bowdlerized version of the novel, while free of vulgarity, was also free of flavor.