#jonathan franzen

At a certain point, I just have to try not too think to much about certain things, or else they’ll break my heart.

It was strange that self-pity wasn't on the list of deadly sins; none was deadlier.

Simply by trying to speak honestly, surrendering to emotion, supporting other people in their honesty and emotion, she experienced her first glimmerings of spirituality.

The suspicion that everything was relative. That "the real" and "the authentic" were not merely doomed but from the very beginning imaginary. That his sense of justice, of being the sole champion of the real, was nothing but a feeling.