Life is loneliness, broken only by the gods taunting us with friendship and the odd bonk

This story is not and never was meant to challenge anyone's faith; however, if one's faith can be shaken by stories in a humorous novel, one may have a bit more praying to do.

That's the scary thing about hope," she said. "If you let it go too long it turns into faith.

. . . You seem upset, Charlie. Is something wrong? Charlie: No, no, I’m okay, I just had to take directions from a mute beaver in a fez to get here, it’s unsettling.

Foul and magical fumes bubbled out of the kettle, like the flatulence of a dragon on a demon-only diet.

She doesn't understand that a writer is a special creature--that I'm different from everyone else. I'm not saying I'm superior to other people, just more sensitive, I guess.

He always had a problem with the purity of others. Never his own.