William T. Vollmann

“This is the heart of it, the scared woman who does not want to go alone to the man any longer, because…

— William T. Vollmann

“When it comes to revolutionaries, trust only the sad ones. The enthusiastic ones are the oppressors of tomorrow.”

— William T. Vollmann

“Jimmy decided to get drunk—not just drunk enough to enjoy life (here he grinned, and Cecily smiled back), not just drunk enough…

— William T. Vollmann

“But how could he explain anything to them, when they understood good but not goodness, strong but not strength, black but not…

— William T. Vollmann

“For we all must build our worlds around us, bravely or dreamily, as long as we can we shelter ourselves from the…

— William T. Vollmann

“So you cheat on your wife and you want me to give you a gold star for it, said Domino. Well, mister,…

— William T. Vollmann

Death is ordinary. Behold it, subtract its patterns and lessons from those of the death that weapons bring, and maybe the residue…

— William T. Vollmann

“Nothing, brother. Everything's about nothing. You know that, but you prefer to pretend otherwise. We both do.”

— William T. Vollmann

“Mitya was almost ready to confess which chord it was which actually caused him to see rainbow icicles. Soon”

— William T. Vollmann

“The smoke detectors began to ring; for they were battery-powered and thus still functioned, just as a record can still be played…

— William T. Vollmann

“Had he won the battle of Stalingrad, he would have been sitting there, too; for any war against our Soviet Union must…

— William T. Vollmann

“So even that doesn’t make you happy? What about your Seventh Symphony? At least it rallied people. Once you told me how…

— William T. Vollmann

“But I don't think a river wants anything, except to be itself. Just like anybody and anything. I don't think it claimed…

— William T. Vollmann

I decided that there is really some sort of entity that I call Imperial, and I decided to extend it all the…

— William T. Vollmann

I wish I could go back and rewrite my first book, You Bright and Risen Angels; I could do a better job.…

— William T. Vollmann

“It’s now widely agreed in progressive social circles that all humankind constitutes a single superorganism.”

— William T. Vollmann

“We each must fulfill our own obligation.”

— William T. Vollmann

“Life is an extended camping trip. With a leaky, inferior tent one runs no more risk of rain than anyone else; but…

— William T. Vollmann

“Anyone who would pay to have sex with a woman who has no options deserves to get ripped off.”

— William T. Vollmann

I want to fall in love with beautiful women of all races. Rescue somebody every now and then, improve my painting, and…

— William T. Vollmann

“Expressiveness in others enriched Mrs. Singer's confidence in her own interpretations, possibly because a certain fear that she had not accomplished anything…

— William T. Vollmann

“By your command, sir, I said. But Elena was still the one I loved. Knowing that I loved her, I knew who…

— William T. Vollmann

“Most literary critics agree that fiction cannot be reduced to mere falsehood. Well-crafted protagonists come to life, pornography causes orgasms, and the…

— William T. Vollmann

There will come a time when nobody reads my books and no one remembers who I was. And in the meantime, I'll…

— William T. Vollmann

“In the preface of "The Rifles" "Another rule we followed was never kill an animal that we were not going to use…

— William T. Vollmann