Irrawaddy Tango

The gods have a way of mocking a prayer by answering some small portion of it.

from Irrawaddy Tango
by Wendy Law-Yone
Northwestern University Press, 2003

Governor of the Northern Province

The rest of the country had simply continued their low-intensity citizenship, treating another federal election like little more than a rush hour bus; it didn't matter if they missed this one, the next would chug along before they could finish muttering about all the noxious fumes left in the air by the last.

from Governor of the Northern Province
by Randy Boyagoda
Viking Canada, 2006

Paper

And when the stages of maceration and desiccation were over and the souls in these human envelopes were fled, a lingering odour was left among the living, which was exactly like the stink of paper-making, she said.

from Paper
by Bahiyyih Nakhjavani
Bloomsbury, 2004

The Mission Song

"Salvo," he would say, "take care. There are people out there whom God alone can love."

from The Mission Song
by John le Carré
Little, Brown, 2006

The Last Templar

I'm pretty sure Jesus didn't intend His revolution to become what it is today, and I can't imagine He would have liked His teachings to become the dogmatic and oppressive faith that grew up in His name. I mean, He was a freedom fighter who despised authority. How ironic is that?

from The Last Templar
by Raymond Khoury
Signet, 2006

Nietzsche's Kisses

...there are obviously too many books on the planet. Those you should read but never will and those you believe you should read but discover halfway through you were wrong about and those you read against your better judgment because your friends have recommended them except your friends are no longer your friends and the politeness of the initial act has devolved into an attrition of days.

from Nietzsche's Kisses
by Lance Olsen
FC2, 2006