“I wanted to ask her how the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant.”

“I always want to know the things one shouldn't do."
"So as to do them?" asked her aunt.
"So as to choose." said Isabel”

“How can a man be so brilliant and so obtuse?”

“Funny how a beautiful song could tell such an ugly story.”

“Vice knows she's ugly, so puts on her mask. ”

“So I said I wanted you to stay, even though nothing could stay the same.”

“I met Courtney Love and she said she'd like to sleep with me, but she couldn't cos of my "pop-star thing"… so I said to her I couldn't sleep with her either - cos of her 'ugly thing'…”

“And so he was reading the story as if it were a spell and the words of it, spoken aloud, could make magic happen.”

“You're the enemy. I don't want to sympathize with you. So… So don't… Don't cry like that in front of me! Damn it…”

“One day I was speeding along at the typewriter, and my daughter - who was a child at the time - asked me, "Daddy, why are you writing so fast?" And I replied, "Because I want to see how the story turns out!”