"At each demise, Darius wept bitterly and buried his departed friends in the compound beside his father's vinca bush. He spent long hours meditating on the wisdom of loving living things which invariably ended up dead. There was something patently ungrateful about the transaction, a lack of good taste in whoever was responsible for such a pointless, wasteful finish: beautiful, colourful creatures, full of life and fun, hidden under the drab soil of the compound. What sense did it make?" Chapter 3, pg. 43.

"The voices ceased abruptly, in mid-melody. Their features frozen, everyone looked at Sohrab. He sat staring angrily at his plate. The candles cast nervous shadows that shivered or yawed wildly when the flames were disturbed by breathing. "'The food is getting really cold,' said Dilnavaz, although it was the last thing she cared about now. "'Yes, we will eat,' said Gustad, 'but,' to...