“But this post-college world felt different from everything that had come before it; art was still central, but now everyone had to think about making a living too, and they did so with a kind of sc...”

“But, she knew, you didnt have to marry your soulmate, and you didnt even have to marry an Interesting. You didnt always need to be the dazzler, the firecracker, the one who cracked everyone up, or ...”

“There was no life Dennis burned to live except, it seemed, a life that wasn't depressed.”

“For while they'd stayed close during the absurd years of his sharp rise, having children had knocked it all into a different arrangement. The minute you had children you closed ranks. You didn't pl...”

“If someone said 'diametrically,' could 'opposed' be far behind?”

“Is there anything sadder than the scrawniest little piece of uneaten chicken at a dinner party?Hmm, said Jules. Yes. The Holocaust.”

“I finally know the difference between pleasing and loving, obeying and respecting. It has taken me so many years to be okay with being different, and with being this alive, this intense. (xxvi)”

“Spring passes and one remembers one's innocence.Summer passes and one remembers one's exuberance.Autumn passes and one remembers one's reverence.Winter passes and one remembers one's perseverance.”

“Birthdays could be such a bummer when you were older than the country you lived in.”