“Tombstones grew like ragged, rotting teeth from the mushy grass-covered ground.”

“to know a piece of grass, you’ve got to see the ground that grew it. Maybe that’s why I remember every detail of that night, every inch of ground we covered, as I followed Zach to the place that had made him, seeing them both with fresh eyes.”

“Each tombstone was like the cover of a book that had been sealed forever.”

“Cemeteries in Bohemia are like gardens. The graves are covered with grass and colourful flowers. Modest tombstones are lost in the greenery. When the sun goes down, the cemetery sparkles with tiny candles... no matter how brutal life becomes, peace always reigns in the cemetery. Even in wartime, even in Hitler's time, even in Stalin's time..”

“You're a bum-rag covered in clart!”

“I'm not irreplaceable ... I'm nothing but grass growing on the ground; when the grass dies, another one replaces it ...”