“Raskin's memoir is oddly entertaining. Perhaps it is his earnestness and determination. So long as he believes Ando will guide and support him, who are we to spoil the illusion? Who are we to doubt?Perhaps it is the way Raskin peculiarly juxtaposes love with food, history with pop culture, and his life in San Francisco with his travels through Asia. Perhaps it is his voice, confident yet humble, self-effacing and unassuming.Or perhaps it is simply how he reminds us of the guys we knew in college, the ones who frequently faltered but genuinely meant well, who were inherently messed up but had significant potential, the ones who carried themselves a certain way, in short, the ones we couldn't help rooting for.”
“You always felt destined for stardom of one kind or another. But the fear that maybe that wasn't true wouldn't leave you alone. That you were no more than the classes you'd taken, the schools you'd attended, the books you'd read, the languages you spoke, your scholarships, your master's thesis on Borges and the English writers, and so on, but nobody unique, with a talent only your own. You were desperate for something that was yours alone. I was yours alone, but that isn't what you meant.”
“Upon an ever expansive horizon, Life reveals Her mystery; To live is a gift, to feel is a blessing, and to take part in Her beauty is a miracle renewed each day.”
“Hold her tight, if you have her; hold her tight, I thought, that's my advice to all the living. Breathe her in, put your nose in her hair, breathe her in deeply. Say her name. It will always be her name. Not even death can steal it. Same alive as dead, always. Aura Estrada.”
“- Votre mari n'est pas là madame Eiffel - Non il est allé faire une tour.”
“Certaines gens, plantés devant leur miroir, croient qu'ils réfléchissent, alors que c'est le contraire.”