“My father never told us how the stories worked. He didn't reveal the layers, the nuggets of information, the fragments of truth and fantasy. He didn't need to -- because, given the right conditions, the stories activated, sowing themselves.”

“For my father there was no sharper way to understand a country than by listening to its stories.”

“My father used to say that stories are part of the most precious heritage of mankind.”

“These days no one challenges us,' he said. 'And because there is no challenge, there is no reason to work hard. And with no reason to work hard, we have all become lazy.”

“Nothing was really so important to my father as the achievement of selflessness. He rarely mentioned it directly, but tried to guide us to it in a roundabout way.”

“Stories are not like the real world; they aren't held back by what we know is false or true. What's important is how a story makes you feel inside.”

“Stories are a communal currency of humanity.”