“It's early days. A few skeletons are bound to keep jumping out of the closet.”

“It seems as if from being a novelty nine-day wonder, the super-hero has become a part of American life. It's here to stay.For better, or for worse.”

“Born from oblivion; bear children, hell-bound as ourselves; go into oblivion. There is nothing else. Existence is random. Has no pattern save what we imagine after staring at it for too long. No meaning save what we choose to impose. This rudderless world is not shaped by vague metaphysical forces. It is not God who kills the children. Not fate that butchers them or destiny that feeds them to the dogs. It's us. Only us.”

“Language comes first. It's not that language grows out of consciousness, if you haven't got language, you can't be conscious.”

“To me, all creativity is magic. Ideas start out in the empty void of your head - and they end up as a material thing, like a book you can hold in your hand. That is the magical process. It's an alchemical thing. Yes, we do get the gold out of it but that's not the most important thing. It's the work itself.”

“Janey accuses me of chasing jailbait. She bursts into angry tears, asking if it's because she's getting older. It's true. She's aging more noticeably every day—while I am standing still. I prefer the stillness here. I am tired of Earth. These people. I am tired of being caught in the tangle of their lives.”

“As I come to understand Vietnam and what it implies about the human condition, I also realize that few humans will permit themselves such an understanding.”