What's the point of being alive," she said, "if you're not going to communicate?

I'm odd, I know,' he said. 'It's fear of myself that's made me odd.

Terry Kitchen asked me one time why, since I had so few gifts as a husband and father, I had gotten married. And I heard myself say: "That's the way the post-war movie goes.

I've got news for Mr. Santayana: we're doomed to repeat the past no matter what. That's what it is to be alive.

Anyone unable to understand how useful religion can be founded on lies will not understand this book either.

As stupid and vicious as men are, this is a lovely day.

You say what you have to say. But you have to learn to say it in such a way that the reader can see what you mean.