“ With a story, as with a well-chosen gift, we’re happiest when surprised by something we didn’t know we wanted. David Mitchell
“ Well, Hae-Joo probed, what did I do to relax? I play Go against my sony, I said.To relax? he responded, incredulous. Who wins, you or the sony?The sony, I answered, or how would I ever improve?So winn… David Mitchell
“ Time is what stops history happening at once; time is the speed at which the past disappears. David Mitchell
“ The glances musicians exchange, when music is effortless, that was what he wanted from Milly, that intimacy. David Mitchell
“ Sex may be the antidote to death but it offers life everlasting only to the species, not the individual. David Mitchell
“ Power is lost or won, never created or destroyed. Power is a visitor to, not a possession of, those it empowers. David Mitchell
“ Poor England. Too much history for its acreage. Years grow inwards here, like my toenails. David Mitchell
“ Old Rekohu’s claim to singularity, however, lay in its unique pacific creed. Since time immemorial, the Moriori’s priestly caste dictated that whosoever spilt a man’s blood killed his own mana - his h… David Mitchell
“ Oh, diplomacy, said M.D., in his element, it mops up war's spillages; legitimizes its outcomes; gives the strong state the means to impose its will on a weaker one, while saving its fleets and battali… David Mitchell
“ Marinus blows out a mouthful of air. Did close-range artillery knock any sense into you, or are we staying? David Mitchell
“ Luisa rolls her napkin into a compact ball. I ask three simple questions. How did he get that power? How is he using it? And how can it be taken off the sonofabitch? David Mitchell
“ Jealous and sweet, this music was, sobbing and gorgeous, muddy and crystal. But if the right words existed the music wouldn’t need to. David Mitchell
“ If you show someone something you've written, you give them a sharpened stake, lie down in your coffin, and say, ‘When you’re ready’. David Mitchell
