“Integrity is a bugger, it really is. Lying can get you into difficulties, but to really wind up in the crappers try telling nothing but the truth.”

“Often I think boys don’t become men. Boys just get papier-mâchéd inside a man’s mask. Sometimes you can tell the boy is still in there.”

“I could tell you a hundred things, thinks Jacob, and nothing at all.”

“Power, time, gravity, love. The forces that really kick ass are all invisible.”

“We create models to explain nature, but the models wind up gatecrashing nature and driving away the original inhabitants.”

“Mother used to say escape is never further than the nearest book. Well, Mumsy, no, not really. Your beloved large-print sagas of rags, riches, and heartbreak were no camouflage against the miseries trained on you by the tennis ball launcher of life, were they? But, yes, Mum, there again, you have a point. Books don’t offer real escape, but they can stop a mind scratching itself raw.”

“Implausible truth can serve one better than plausible fiction”