The Snack Thief

"He woke up in a bad way. The sheets, during the sweaty, restless sleep that had followed his wolfing down three pounds of sardines a beccafico the previous evening, had wound themselves tightly round his body, making him feel like a mummy" (3; ch. 1).

"He then took a shower and got into bed. Livia, though asleep, felt him beside her and nudged closer with her back to him, pressing her whole body against him. She had always liked to do it this way, half-asleep, in that pleasant no-man's-land between the country of sleep and the city of consciousness" (147; ch. 10).

"He stopped in front of the restaurant where he'd gone the last time he was in Mazàra. He gobbled up a sauté of clams in breadcrumbs, a heaped dish of spaghetti with white clam sauce, a roast turbot with oregano and caramelized lemon, and he topped it all off with a bitter chocolate timbale in orange sauce. When it was all over he stood up, went into the kitchen, and shook the chef's hand without saying a word, deeply moved" (229; ch. 16).