“She knows that feeling too. Of believing that each time someone says her name, its to tell her that something bad has happened.”

“The string slices into the skin of his fingers and no matter how tough the calluses, it tears. But this beat is fast and even though his joints are aching, his arm's out of control like it has a mi...”

“I wish everyone would stop crying, Tom. Uncle Joe would be so angry about it." But she's crying herself now. "He'd be so angry at us, Tom, for crying so much when all he did was laugh.”

“Stani walks in later, glaring at them both.Bloody bastards. One minute punching each other, next minute reading poetry. Whats wrong with everyone this week?Tom can tell that”

“Worse still, he doesnt know how to follow the piper anymore because its a path Tom has lost faith in.And the piper knows it. Tom can see it in his fathers eyes now. And the more he stares, the clea...”

“What about the contacts your mum had? his dad asked.I rang and spoke to four very polite computers who gave me all these options and then cut out on me. Then I tried the post office, because they w...”

“In a universe where all life is in movement, where ever fact seen in perspective is totally engaging, we impose stillness on lively young bodies, distort reality to dullness, make action drudgery. ...”

“If only she could be so oblivious again, to feel such love without knowing it, mistaking it for laughter. ”

“When you're a kid all you know is that your dad puts on his suit or overalls and vanishes from your life until nightfall. Sometimes my pops came back exhausted and scarlet-eyed, as if he'd been eng...”

“Im not a woman you bring home to Mother, pick out china patterns with, or Mary forefend, breed. Ive seen a chunk of the universe, true, but theres still so much more to see. I doubt Ill ever cure t...”

“My hope, my heaven, my trust must be,My gentle guide, in following thee.”

“Amory took to writing poetry on spring afternoons, in the gardens of the big estates near Princeton, while swans made effective atmosphere in the artificial pools, and slow clouds sailed harmonious...”