It was Richard Parker who calmed me down. It is the irony of this story that the one who scared me witless to start with was the very same who brough… - Yann Martel

I know what you want. You want a story that won't surprise you. That will confirm what you already know. That won't make you see higher or further or differently. You want a flat story. An immobile story. You want dry, yeastless factuality.

I was weeping because Richard Parker left me so unceremoniously. What a terrible thing it is to botch the farewell. I am a person who believes in form, in the harmony of order. Where we can, we must give things meaningful shape.

Because to suffer and do nothing is to be nothing, while to suffer and do something is to become someone.