“It would be possible, in theory, for life and art to be reversed.”

“When I looked at you, my life made sense. Even the bad things made sense. They were necessary to make you possible.”

“I'm grateful for anything that reminds me of what's possible in this life. Books can do that. Films can do that. Music can do that. School can do that. It's so easy to allow one day to simply follow into the next, but every once in a while we encounter something that shows us that anything is possible, that dramatic change is possible, that something new can be made, that laughter can be shared.”

“Grandfather informs me that is not possible.”

“I pointed at, Something.He pointed at, Nothing.I pointed at, Something.Nobody pointed at, I love you.There was no way around it. We could not climb over it, or walk until we found its edge.I regret that it takes a life to learn how to live, Oskar. Because if I were able to live my life again, I would do things differently.I would change my life.I would kiss my piano teacher, even if he laughed at me.I would jump with Mary on the bed, even if I made a fool of myself.I would send out ugly photographs, thousands of them.”

“And so it was when anyone tried to speak: their minds would become tangled in remembrance. Words became floods of thought with no beginning or end, and would drown the speaker before he could reach the life raft of the point he was trying to make. It was impossible to remember what one meant, what, after all of the words, was intended.”

“If we were to one day encounter a form of life more powerful and intelligent than our own, and it regarded us as we regard fish, what would be our argument against being eaten?”