“Most nightmares are caged in their realm by implausibilities. The sleeper slogs through quicksand in a fun house of frightening nonsense and disjointed mumbo jumbo. But everything’s all better once the bedside lamp is back on, because reality, even when it’s bad, is easily distinguished from night terror. Except for the trying-to-scream dream. That one’s pretty much spot-on.”

“I thought it was foolish mumbo jumbo when I was alive - then I woke up dead.”

“Their eyes had seen so much that they no longer distinguished between dream and reality. And they had so few illusions they were through asking questions of anyone, even of themselves.”

“Come Judgment Day, we may find that Mumbo Jumbo the God of the Congo was the Big Boss all along.”

“The stories teach them valuable life lessons. That good things happen to bad people. That it’s possible to make a bad situation even worse if you don’t think it through. That parents are clueless except when they’re not. That it’s good to try new things even when a new thing is kind of disgusting, because new experiences make you a well-rounded person. That art can be transcendent. That lust is all-powerful, that drugs are fun, and that not everyone who does them is a loser. That losing people is part of life. That where comedy goes, tragedy isn’t far behind. That everyone has issues with their bodies, but some take it too far, almost to death. That fear can be exhilarating. That boys are assholes. That it’s important to look forward and never look back…”

“Through the night we drove in a tangle of waking and sleeping, nightmares from hell and holy white dreams.”