“Personally, nothing would surprise me any more. If my father announced that he was really a Russian agent or my mother ran away with a circus knife thrower, I wouldn't raise an eyebrow.”

“I admit to a feeling of pride that my father had saved the day yet again, although I also thought that nothing would have been better for me personally than for the mullah to force my father's departure within the hour. Either way, I know now that nothing would have stopped my father from his Jihad. If he could not remain in Afghanistan, he would go to Pakistan. If Pakistan pulled the welcome mat, he would go to Yemen. If Yemen threw him out, he would journey to the middle of the most hostile desert where he would plot against the West. Violent Jihad was my father's life; nothing else really mattered. Nothing.”

“Some of them are working hard indeed.""What are they doing?""My boy!" he said, eyebrows raised. As if nothing could be more obvious: "They are reading.”

“If I was drunk, I wouldn’t be here at all. And really, this is pretty good for four White Russians.”“White what?” I almost sat down but was afraid the chair might dematerialize beneath me.“It’s a drink,” he said. “You’d think I wouldn’t be into something named that—you know, considering my own personal experience with Russians. But they’re surprisingly delicious. The drinks, not real Russians.”

“Maybe I could come over to your house again afterward and check on you?" I raised my eyebrows to hint hint what I meant by checking on him. With any luck his father would be as uninvolved and dismissive as he'd been tonight.Nick needed more yoga in his bedroom, and possibly a physical.”

“The source ran somewhere, far away from him, ran and ran invisibly, had nothing to do with his life any more. And at several times he suddenly became scared on account of such thoughts and wished that he would also be gifted with the ability to participate in all of this childlike-naive occupations of the daytime with passion and with his heart, really to live, really to act, really to enjoy and to live instead of just standing by as a spectator.”