There are no happy endings, he knew, because nothing ends; and if there were any being dispensed, a great many worthier people would be in line for them long before Michael and Laura and himself. But the happiness of the unworthy and the happiness of the so-so is as fragile and self-centered and dear as the happiness of the righteous and the worthy; and the happiness of the living is no less short and desperate and forgotten than the joys of the dead.

~ Peter S. Beagle

Peter S. Beagle Dead Dear Fragile Happy Endings Jonathan Rebeck Joys Of The Dead Laura Durand Living Michael Morgan Nothing Ends Righteous Self Centered Unworthy Worthy

Man searches constantly for identity, he thought as he trotted along the gravel path. He has no real proof of this existence except for the reaction of other people to that fact. So he listens very closely to what people say to one another about him, whether it's good or bad, because it indicates that he lives in the same world they do, and that all his fears about being invisible, impotent, lacking some mysterious dimension that other people have, are groundless.

~ Peter S. Beagle

Peter S. Beagle Identity Invisible Jonathan Rebeck Proof Of Existence

Forget it, Jonathan, and go back to sleep. And before you go to sleep, pray that no well-meaning god ever makes you immortal.

~ Peter S. Beagle

Peter S. Beagle Gods Immortality Jonathan Rebeck Sleep