By clearly emphasizing all that was lacking in others, by mapping and raising to an art form the catalog of their flaws, Veblen’s mother had inversely punched out a template for an ideal human being, and it was the unspoken assumption that Veblen would aspire to this template with all her might.

She’d let her eyes water so the view was blurry, which gave certain qualities of the world neglected by clear eyesight the chance to come forth, such as the shocking beauty of color, and she remembered this with compassion for that silly young self, which had deserved to have her hand held.

And yet – with those well-marked whiskers, and that topcoat, and the notable scruff, a squirrel who cared and followed you everywhere – wouldn’t that be nice?

A life could be spent like an apology – to prove you had been worth it.

He says marriage is a continuous inevitable confrontation that can be resolved only through death.

While we’re talking about my dreams, about how I’m gloomy and combative, and about displacing those feelings onto my pillow instead of my loved ones.

It bothered Veblen’s mother that most people were lazy and had given up original thought a long time ago, stealing stale phrases from the media like magpies.

And from a branch in the tall tree, a small gray squirrel released a mighty roar.

We employed a stocky Yorkshire woman to walk me home from school past the barbershop with the unhappy mynah bird. “Kill me!” it suggested as we passed by.

That until now she was a Christmas tree that had been decorated by someone who hated Christmas.