The fundamental mistake I had always made - and that she had, in fairness, always led me to make - was this: Margo was not a miracle. She was not an adventure. She was not a fine and precious thing. She was a girl.

...But there's always suffering, Pudge. Homework or malaria or having a boyfriend who lives far away when there's a good-looking boy lying next to you. Suffering is universal. It's the one thing Buddhists, Christians, and Muslims are all worried about.

There are always answers. We just have to be smart enough.

I wouldn’t have a career if it weren’t for independent bookstores.

Caroline is no longer sufffering from personhood.

We think that we are invincible because we are.

Amsterdam is like the rings of a tree: It gets older as you get closer to the center.