“It was the essence of life to disbelieve in death for one's self, to act as if life would continue forever. And life had to act also as if little issues were big ones. To take a realistic attitude ...”

“Imagination is like a muscle. I found out that the more I wrote, the bigger it got.”

“It is no idle phrase that man was made in God's image. There is something worth saving in the worst of us, and out of this something a new man may be fashioned.”

“This story is about love, which means that it is also about hate.”

“Invincible ignorance always upset him, even though he knew he should just laugh at it.”

“You had to make your choice between survival and efficiency, though in the long run survival was optimum efficiency, no matter how much time and effort it took.”

“I wouldn't even dare read the Torah, let alone attempt a witty observation on the Torah.”

“I'm an angel. The horns are only there to hold up the halo.”

“Childhood friends are continuity, uninterrupted connections between selves, and you hold on them. You hold on them and you love them, but sometimes they're not quite comfortable.”