The presence of evil was something to be first recognized, then dealt with, survived, outwitted, triumphed over.

A friend gathers all the pieces and gives them back in the right order.

Which was what love was: unmotivated respect.

Make a difference, does it? You stay the night here snake get you.

The seeds of destruction lie in the definition of "chosen-ness" and can easily blossom into bigotry. It's not inevitable but it needs constant care to avoid.

the hopelessness that comes from knowing too little and feeling too much (so brittle, so dry he is in danger of the reverse: feeling nothing and knowing everything)

I wrote my first novel because I wanted to read it.