“I went back to my room and spent all night contemplating whether it was possible in life not to be constantly let down. If it could ever be worth pinning your happiness to another person, when all ...”

“The sharp, superficial pain at being spoken to unkindly had obscured the deeper pain, which had not yet turned into something hard and heavy.”

“I became convinced that I was being watched.Because self was still leaking everywhere, a part of me began to think it was Mizuko rather than a stranger. I hoped that there might still be a reunion....”

“That night I dreamt about the roses laid at the wrong feetthe feet of the nurse. Each bit of the dream was like a hyperlink. I pressed on one, wanting answers, and it took me to another. I could ne...”

“It never ceased to amaze me how she just had the facts always, in her head. It occured to me that if, or when, she died, a whole load of facts, a body of knowledge, might disappear without a trace.”

“The whole time I hadn't slept with anyone at university had made it harder and harder to finally do it. Like spending too long on a very high diving board, until finally you have to exit ignominiou...”

“Fake love, is just as damaging as open hate.”

“The wound made by hurting with fire will heal but the wound created by harsh words uttered using out tongue leaves an indelible scar.”

“Superficial knowledge is potentially more dangerous than ignorance. It gives a false sense of security encouraging an ignorant man to persevere in his efforts that can result in huge damage.”

“Women weren't to be trusted. Or forgiven. Men weren't to be trusted either. Not a woman alive would dispute that.”

“Forgiving someone else doesn't give them a free pass. It gives you a free pass to move on.”

“None of us deserve the good things that come our way. It's by grace, love and forgiveness that any of us experience joy.”

“This is the city, and I am one of the citizens/Whatever interests the rest interests me”

“In some neighborhoods, faces mature faster than bodies.”

“My advice for aspiring writers is go to New York. And if you cant go to New York, go to the place that represents New York to you, where the standards for writing are high, there are other people w...”