“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...”

“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...”

“They always prided themselves on looking youthful. Fortys the new thirty, theyd joke.Until heartbreak and grief enter your life, and then fortys the new one hundred.”

“Worse still, he doesn’t know how to follow the piper anymore because it’s a path Tom has lost faith in.And the piper knows it. Tom can see it in his father’s eyes now. And the more he stares, the c...”

“The ultimate foundation of spirituality is the recognition that there can't be such a thing as a purposeful life in a purposeless universe.”

“George, she says it's the truth that matters. We live and die for the chance to maybe tell a little bit of the truth, maybe shame the Devil just a little bit before we go.”

“Man must learn to know the universe precisely as it is, or he cannot successfully find his place in it. A man should therefore use his reasoning faculty in all matters involving truth, and especial...”