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

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

“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.”

“My father looked on in disbelief, overwhelmed that his son had been taught to eat glass and relish it.”

“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 a communal currency of humanity.”

“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.”