The important thing was that we were being polite and not saying all the things that were making us unhappy, which was the only way we knew how to love each other.

Am I crazy?" she asked. "I feel like I am sometimes." "Maybe," he said, rubbing her forehead. "But don't worry about it. You need to be a little bit crazy. Crazy is the price you pay for having an imagination. It's your superpower. Tapping into the dream. It's a good thing not a bad thing.

...I am a time being. Do you know what a time being is? Well, if you give me a moment, I will tell you. A time being is someone who lives in time, and that means you, and me, and every one of us who is, or was, or ever will be.

She missed the built environment of New York City. It was only in an urban landscape, amid straight lines and architecture, that she could situate herself in human time and history. She missed people. She missed human intrigue, drama and power struggles. She needed her own species, not to talk to, necessarily, but just to be among, as a bystander in a crowd or an anonymous witness.

She smiled. “Life is full of stories. Or maybe life is only stories. Good night, my dear Nao.

language is magical - it's a form of conjuring. If you do it convincingly, readers will follow you.

I believe it doesn't matter what it is, as long as you can find something concrete to keep you busy while you are living your meaningless life.