And yet, Briony struggled to grasp the difficult thought, wasn't there manipulation here, wasn't Lola using the twins to express something on her behalf, something hostile or destructive?
Jonathan Baume, general secretary of the First Division Association, said: "We now need to be very transparent, very clear that this cannot continue, but at the same time grasp the very difficult political nettle which is to address pay at the senior levels of the civil service.
In a world where names such as LulzSec, Anonymous and the Syrian Electronic Army are banded around in an ever-increasingly porous internet, it can be difficult grasping the basics of the who, what and why of online hackers.
Writers in general, and novelists in particular, have a notoriously difficult time grasping the basic concept of the vacation.
Learning bonsai was difficult, but grasping the culture, within this bizarre, isolated world of Kimura's art, was grueling.
Still, the media has had a difficult time grasping the extent of the relationship.
Fox has also grasped the nettle in the difficult issue of dealing with the steep declines of regional newspaper operations.
Firm, focused American intervention over a period of months is the only path, and Mr. Bush appears now to grasp that difficult truth.
"Politicians find it difficult to grasp the implications of these changes.
It is difficult to grasp the immense size and impact of the ongoing environmental and human disaster in Indonesia.
