“The sting of a fly, the Congolese say, can launch the end of the world. How simply things begin.”

“The thing about endings is, they can begin quietly enough. That's how they sneak up on you.”

“They say all things end. But I say all things begin.”

“But a Congolese life is like the useless Congolese bill, which you can pile by the fistful or the bucketful into a merchant's hand, and still not purchase a single banana. It's dawning on me that I live among men and women who've simply always understood their whole existence is worth less than a banana to most white people. I see it in their eyes when they glance up at me.”

“Death is not the end of things, my sister. It is the beginning of a greater adventure than this small life you cherish can hold. And beyond these shores of death, there are great ships that fly from the golden seas to the skies of pearl.”

“Dignified refusal can only take you so far. Ask the Congolese.”