“whole thing about sticks and stones was a lie. Words hurt as bad as a fist. Maybe worse. Because a fist, maybe you excuse that as oh, he couldn’t help it, he’s just an animal, a primate, his blood was up. But someone cuts you with words? Calls you names, tells you how little they think of you? That bypasses all your armor. A razor sliding across the meat of your heart.”
― The Staircase in the Woods
― The Staircase in the Woods
“After a battle lasting many ages,
The Devil won,
And said to God
(who had been his Maker):
"Lord,
We are about to witness the unmaking of Creation
By my hand.
I would not wish you
to think me cruel,
So I beg you, take three things
From this world before I destroy it.
Three things, and then the rest will be
wiped away."
God thought for a little time.
And at last He said:
"No, there is nothing."
The Devil was surprised.
"Not even you, Lord?" he said.
And God said:
"No. Not even me.”
― Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War
The Devil won,
And said to God
(who had been his Maker):
"Lord,
We are about to witness the unmaking of Creation
By my hand.
I would not wish you
to think me cruel,
So I beg you, take three things
From this world before I destroy it.
Three things, and then the rest will be
wiped away."
God thought for a little time.
And at last He said:
"No, there is nothing."
The Devil was surprised.
"Not even you, Lord?" he said.
And God said:
"No. Not even me.”
― Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War
“When words fail you, you dissolve into an image of nothingness. You disappear.”
― Talking to Strangers: Selected Essays, Prefaces, and Other Writings, 1967–2017
― Talking to Strangers: Selected Essays, Prefaces, and Other Writings, 1967–2017
“Our dwelling is but a wandering, and our abiding is but a fleeting, and in a word our home is nowhere.”
― Day Out of Days: Stories
― Day Out of Days: Stories
Tom’s 2024 Year in Books
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