“Besides, interesting things happen along borders—transitions—not in the middle where everything is the same.”

“I have always felt that the action most worth watching is not at the center of things but where edges meet. I like shorelines, weather fronts, international borders. There are interesting frictions and incongruities in these places, and often, if you stand at the point of tangency, you can see both sides better than if you were in the middle of either one.”

“When it comes to naming things, vanity and flattery are dull motivations best suited for deciding on a child’s middle name. Much more interesting are the descriptive names that suggest a story or happening of interest.”

“...‘I am interested in everything,’ interrupted Gumbril Junior.‘Which comes to the same thing,’ said his father parenthetically, ‘as being interested in nothing.”

“She kept an eye on the horizon, or where she thought it was, and understood that not everything that existed could be seen. Not every border was clear.”

“Because sometimes Lucky wanted to change everything, all the bad things that had happened, and sometimes she wanted everything to stay the same forever.”