“They were like two inviolable spheres touching at a fine point in their curves, touching but failing to penetrate, failing to breathe the other's air.”

“His touch could never fail to make me feel desire; yet his hot, sweet breath also made me want to vomit.”

“In our pilgrimage on this earthwe sometimes fail to seeall who the Lord touches through usin simple words and deeds.”

“They were like two pieces of a failed star, drawn together by a shared history and a memory of illicit kisses.”

“Even sound seemed to fail in this air, like the air was worn out with carrying sounds so long.”

“We must allow ourselves to think, we must dare to think, even though we fail. It is in the nature of things that we always fail, because we suddenly find it impossible to order our thoughts, because the process of thinking requires us to consider every thought there is, every possible thought. Fundamentally we have always failed, like all the others, whoever they were, even the greatest minds. At some point, they suddenly failed and their system collapsed, as is proved by their writings, which we admire because they venture farthest into failure. To think is to fail, I thought.”