“ I'm a survivor, I said. But I didn't think that claim would carry much weight in an obituary. Tobias Wolff
“ I teach one semester a year, and this year I'm just teaching one course during that semester, a writing workshop for older students in their late 20s and early 30s, people in our graduate program who… Tobias Wolff
“ In a world where the most consequential things happen by chance, or from unfathomable causes, you don't look to reason for help. You consort with mysteries... They have been killed in place of you - i… Tobias Wolff
“ And I learned that it's a bad idea to curse if you're in trouble, but a good idea to sing, if you can. Tobias Wolff
“ The beauty of a fragment is that it still supports the hope of brilliant completeness. Tobias Wolff
“ Why were Jack and his brother digging post holes? A fence there would run parallel to the one that already enclosed the farmyard. The Welches had no animals to keep in or out - a fence there could ser… Tobias Wolff
“ Lose Faith. Pray anyway. Persist. We are made to persist, to complete the whole tour. That's how we find out who we are. Tobias Wolff
“ Getting from La Jolla to Alta Vista State Hospital isn't easy, unless you have a car or a breakdown. April's Father had a breakdown and they got him there in no time. Tobias Wolff
“ Say you've just read Faulkner's 'Barn Burning'. Like the son in the story, you've sensed the faults in your father's character. Thinking about them makes you uncomfortable, left alone you'd probably c… Tobias Wolff
“ Most of our desires are clichés, right? Ready to wear, one size fits all. I doubt if it’s even possible to have an original desire anymore. Tobias Wolff
