“All stories are lies. But good stories are lies made from light and fire. And they lift our hearts out of the dust, and out of the grave.”

“Some of these things are true and some of them lies. But they are all good stories.”

“A story is not always a lie," said Tristan. "Some stories are truer than truth." Truer than truth? That sounded like something liars made up to tell people who found them out.”

“We are trying to communicate that which lies in our deepest heart, which has no words, which can only be hinted at through the means of a story. And somehow, miraculously, a story that comes from deep in my heart calls from a reader that which is deepest in his or her heart, and together from our secret hidden selves we create a story that neither of us could have told alone.”

“What lies behind the heart is a story to be shared with the world.”

“Here in Manto's own words that he wanted to mark his grave with:"In the name of God, the Compassionate, the MercifulHere lies Saadat Hasan Manto and with him lie buried all the secrets and mysteries of the art of short-story writing....Under tons of earth he lies, still wondering who among the two is greater short-story writer: God or He.”