I discovered that the horse is life itself, a metaphor but also an example of life's mystery and unpredictability, of life's generosity and beauty, a worthy object of repeated and ever changing contemplation.

'Ape House' is an ambitious novel in several ways, for which it is to be admired, and it is certainly an easy read, but because Gruen is not quite prepared for the philosophical implications of her subject, it is not as deeply involving emotionally or as interesting thematically as it could be.

A horse herd was, in its very essence, the manifestation of the expression 'It's always something.

I have noticed before that there is a category of acquaintanceship that is not friendship or business or romance, but speculation, fascination.

English majors understand human nature better than economists do.

In the traditional urban novel, there is only survival or not. The suburban idea, the conformist idea, that agony can be seen to and cured by doctors or psychoanalysis or self-knowledge is nowhere to be found in the city. Talking is a way of life, but it is not a cure. Same with religion.

I had spent years thinking about one thing while I was doing another. I had, in fact, prided myself on being able to do two things at once.