“Death is not a reaper, like they say, nor even a friend. It is a dark, fierce water, an inundation.”

“Seasons don't fear the Reaper, nor do the Sun, the Wind or the Rain.We can be like they are.Come on, baby, don't fear the Reaper.”

“A reaper in a bubble bath? What an affront to the dignity of death.”

“To ensure that the self doesn't shrink, to see that it holds on to its volume, memories have to be watered like potted flowers, and the watering calls for regular contact with the witnesses of the past, that is to say, with friends.”

“A novel is purposely a-philosophic, even anti-philosophic, fiercely independent of any system of preconceived ideas, it questions, it marvels, it doesn't judge, nor proclaims truths.”

“There are times when the ocean is not the ocean - not blue, not even water, but some violent explosion of energy and danger: fierceness on a scale only gods can summon.”