City on Fire

by Garth Risk Hallberg

The City comforted him in a way the Island never really could, because it was impossible, just statistically, for him to be the freakiest person here.

Mom had said that what seemed to be your problems were sometimes a function of not paying better attention to other people’s.

it turned out that truly unconditional love was suffocating, in that it took so little notice of who you actually were.