Departing a yard always feels to me somewhat like crossing a bridge over a deep gorge; one commits oneself to someone else’s defense against the void. - William T. Vollmann

The chronology was for the convenience of the reader who may be unfamiliar with some of the names and events mentioned. My publisher persuaded me to cut it, on account of the wartime paper shortage.

What unlikely things we are, of course, with our voluntary locomotions, and our body heat which keeps our fat from congealing until death! — and how natural the inevitable downward course! (For it seems a wonder that our fleshly contraptions can endure an hour). — How natural, then, the Zombie.
[“The Blue Yonder”]

Even Tyler would be infected by this surprising outbreak of sadness, which he certainly would not have felt had he simply never happened to see Lily again. This taught him the vanity and egotism of grief, which so often compromises nothing except childish rebellion against the closing off of possibilities.