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“The gas lamps in the street went out. Shadows crept along the walls. So there were ghosts. During the night they came flying here and crouched over the books. Then they read. They needed no light, they had such big eyes. Now he would not touch a single book on the upper shelves, nor on the lower ones either. He crept under the counter and his teeth chattered. Ten thousand books and a ghost crouching over each one. That was why it was so quiet. Sometimes he heard them turn over a page. They read as fast as he did himself. He might have grown used to them, but there were ten thousand of them and perhaps one of them would bite.”
― Elias Canetti, Auto-da-Fé

“It's a relief there still exist certain values in this world that transcend the utilitarian rules of gain and loss we've long placed our faith in. There are people who, for reasons inexplicable even to themselves, choose to live according to principles incomprehensible to others, and yet manage to carve out their own safe little corner all the same. It gives you hope that this world really could change for the better.”
― Hu Anyan, I Deliver Parcels in Beijing

“You have been believing that your freedom is secured when you 'put people against the wall'. For once, put yourself in front of a mirror!”
― Wilhelm Reich, Listen, Little Man!

“...we proletariat will never be anything but cynical of capitalist schemes.”
― Hu Anyan, I Deliver Parcels in Beijing