“Literature is the ditch I'm going to die in. It's still the thing I care most about.”

“I considered the wonder of the things that befell me, convinced that my life was the best omelet you could make with a chainsaw. -- Panama”

“After the long time of going together and the mutual trust that had grown out of that time, Payne had occasion to realize that no mutual trust had grown out of the long time they had gone together.”

“She ate her breakfast in silence, then drove downtown in weather so lowering the streetlights seemed decapitated. This was when you could discover if your preparations for winter were adequate, and if you were ready for the restrictions of movement and light that were about to be upon you.”

“We both liked children; we just didn't want any ourselves. There were children everywhere, and we saw no reason to start our own brand. Young couples plunge into parenthood and about half the time they end up with some ghastly problem on their hands. We thought we'd leave that to others.”

“I may be the wrong person for my life.”

“That food was so bad I can't wait for it to become a turd and leave me.”