Of course (said Oryx), having a money value was no substitute for love. Every child should have love, every person should have it. . . . but love was undependable, it came and then it went, so it was good to have a money value, because then at least those who wanted to make a profit from you would make sure you were fed enough and not damaged too much. Also there were many who had neither love nor a money value, and having one of these things was better than having nothing.

we lived in the gaps between the stories

Marshall McLuhan is absolutely right, we are always looking in the rear view mirror.

Everybody acts as if they have free will. They act as if they can make these decisions; do they know they don't? I think there's been some back-down on the idea that everything is determined.

Gardening is not a rational act. What matters is the immersion of the hands in the earth, that ancient ceremony of which the Pope kissingthe tarmac is merely a pallid vestigial remnant.

Writing... is an act of faith: I believe it's also an act of hope, the hope that things can get better than they are.

They spent the first three years of school getting you to pretend stuff and then the rest of it marking you down if you did the same thing.