“Keep moving. Because the human mind is tricky. And we ought not linger in its dark places.”

“Darkness is a defining characteristic of Rotters. But it’s worthy to remember that darkness is just that—it’s dark—and what is being concealed in the dark is not just the horrible and fearsome, it’s also the inspirational and moving. Horror means nothing without happiness; dark means nothing without light. Rotters may make you feel scared, but hopefully it will also make you simply feel. It’s that kind of book, or at least I hope it is.”

“My mind is a dangerous place to be alone without supervision.”

“Because I'm moved in writing to be irrepressible. Writing to you seems like some holy cause, cause there's not enough female irrepressibility written down. I've fused my silence and repression with the entire female gender's silence and repression. I think the sheer fact of women talking, being, paradoxical, inexplicable, flip, self-destructive but above all else public is the most revolutionary thing in the world.”

“I have to do this, as long as it is at all possible; for if those who are obliged to look after commas had always made sure they were in the right place, then Shanghai would not be burning.”

“I stay in that state of mind for the next couple of days, in the places that only exist in the past. The things you can’t undo get lodged in the darkest corners of your mind, where nothing ever seems to get solved, just recycled into new anxiety.”

“Chastity always takes its toll. In some it produces pimples; in others, sex laws.”