“His heart beat so rapidly it might burst; he kept telling himself everything was fine so long as he remained a giraffe.”

“So it is that God tugs at a pilgrim's sleeve telling him to remember that he is only human. He must be his own man, remain in exile, and belong to himself. He must pay attention to his own feelings and to the meaning of what he does, if he is to be for himself, and yet for others as well.”

“He made himself and what he made is one damn fine man. I am so proud to call him my brother I am bursting with it when I see him.”

“In the kitchen, Chub clung to the wall, made no sound whatsoever, but his mouth opened and closed, opened and closed, as he told himself, kept telling himself, that life was material, everything was material - you just had to live long enough to see how to use it.”

“And so I beat him and beat him until he kissed me. And then I kept on beating him until he did it properly.”

“Most of us have small, sad places somewhere in our hearts and my father was no exception. Sometimes we let our feelings escape in bursts of anger. Sometimes we make long, dismal faces. My father did neither. He felt deeply but he kept his feelings to himself. Or rather, being a writer, he let them escape in his writing. But even here he disguised them, unable even in fiction to allow himself to take himself too seriously.”