But I have to say this in defense of humankind: In no matter what era in history, including the Garden of Eden, everybody just got here. And, except for the Garden of Eden, there were already all these games going on that could make you act crazy, even if you weren't crazy to begin with. Some of the crazymaking games going on today are love and hate, liberalism and conservatism, automobiles and credit cards, golf, and girls' basketball.

There is this feeling that I have a destiny far away from the shallow and preposterous posing that is our life.

Do you realize that all great literature is all about what a bummer it is to be a human being? Isn't it such a relief to have somebody say that?

A sum of money is a leading character in this tale about people, just as a sum of honey might properly be a leading character in a tale about bees.

Each one of us has to be what he or she is.

Trust a crowd to look at the wrong end of a miracle every time.

Any reviewer who expresses rage and loathing for a novel is preposterous. He or she is like a person who has put on full armor and attacked a hot fudge sundae.