Wayne Ng > Quotes

“We roamed among people blinded by too much color, deafened by too much music, whose palates were dulled by too many tastes, and whose hearts were torn asunder by too much desire.”
― Wayne Ng, Finding the Way: A Novel of Lao Tzu

“Your Highness, were I to desire to change the world, I could not succeed. The world is shaped by the Way; the self cannot shape it. Trying to change it, you damage it; trying to possess it, you lose it.”
― Wayne Ng, Finding the Way: A Novel of Lao Tzu

“They argued in front of us over dinner like we were not there and then there was silence. It is like a war in Canada ready to explode like Jane is the FLQ and she has come to break up the country by taking me hostage except I can not decide if mother or father is Quebec and if they will ever get along.”
― Wayne Ng, Letters From Johnny (184)

“The CAS sent me to a therapist. He actually wasn’t half bad at first—real young, kinda cute, a bit stuck up with degrees in fancy IKEA frames all over his concrete walls and new-agey music playing. I mean, what kind of therapist has background music? Like was he going to massage my feet too? No doubt, he was making good money, though. To be honest, if he had made a move on me, I might have been okay with it.”
― Wayne Ng, The Family Code (206)

“At school (father) had excelled in music, mathematics, rituals and writing, cultivating his mind as finely as wind sculpts pebbles smooth and round.”
― Wayne Ng, Finding the Way: A Novel of Lao Tzu

“The things that come naturally to me are getting by (yes, that’s debatable), getting out when the shit’s hitting the fan, and getting the first punch in (unless I’ve been suckered). I’m good at those. References are available if you don’t believe me.”
― Wayne Ng, The Family Code (206)

“What I wanted didn’t matter. I was in a Chinese family.”
― Wayne Ng, Johnny Delivers

“Can’t you lose this protective big brother routine and be a normal teenage drug dealer?”
― Wayne Ng, Johnny Delivers

“Darth Vader would be the prosecuting attorney. I wouldn’t be allowed to speak, but Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch, would be my attorney.”
― Wayne Ng, Johnny Delivers

“Bruce Lee never bothered with soliloquies. He just went in and showed them who was boss.”
― Wayne Ng, Johnny Delivers

“When you’ve played with fire, you don’t need water.”
― Wayne Ng, Johnny Delivers

“Dear Mr Keon, Who was your best friend when you were in grade 5? I bet he played hockey with you and did not steal and kill people like Rollie. After he disappeared and mother and me got grilled by the police we had to talk to someone from child warfare about our family.”
― Wayne Ng, Letters From Johnny (184)

“Axel’s eyes are hazelnut and shift with the light and his mood. It makes him seem elusive and slippery, almost complicated. He’s not. He just has to be fed, kept busy, and reminded to wipe himself.”
― Wayne Ng, The Family Code (206)

“The kidnappers said they want 23 prisoners freed or else they will kill James Cross. I thought 23 for 1 is not a fair trade unless it is for Dave Keon so no way will the police go for it.”
― Wayne Ng, Letters From Johnny (184)

“Sir, leadership is not the exertion of power and control alone. Rather it is the strategic use of enlightened thought and well-intentioned actions.”
― Wayne Ng, Finding the Way: A Novel of Lao Tzu

“Captain, be content with what you have and who you are, and no one can despoil you. Then you shall forever be safe and secure.”
― Wayne Ng, Finding the Way: A Novel of Lao Tzu