"We're tucked away," said Jesus, "in the southeastern corner of town. To the west, up that little hill and beyond the railing, is the road next to the ponds; to the north, over that fence, the backyard of the old Sanitarium - the Orthopedic-Rehabilitation Sanitarium for Children and Youngsters. When we were little kids, we would always hop over that fence and walk through the building. We weren't supposed to, but the cripples always gave us a good laugh. Considering that the playground was right next door, we felt more than justified." Jesus looked into Zoe's eyes. "You think I'm a cruel man?"

"No," she said. "I don't."

– Verses 592-593 from the chapter called Security

If, for example, the first guard were not subdued in darkness or, even better, beyond the range of the cameras, alarm would be raised and Leonard Cohen-Krupnik would be warned prematurely. If the guards were not vigilant, on the other hand, I would slip through unseen and the fourth-floor guard would thwart our plan. The trick relied on creating just enough suspicion to make the security director send the fourth-floor guard away without bothering Krupnik. Otherwise, the plan was a bust and Stalin and I would have to escape by way of balcony without getting killed or identified. A Best Face Mask only did so much to cover up one's face.

– Verse 1149 from the chapter called Security

"Let me finish. From the east, the south, and the west, the army's covering the City Moat. What does this mean? This means we can't go onto St. Nicholas' or Ruska Street; we can't just let Silesian Insurgents' Street take us directly into Town Square; the only possible chance we have is to go from the southeast: there's a mess of roads by Warsaw Insurgents' Place, and beyond that: there's the park: that's the weak link in the cordon around the Old Town. Terrorists have been causing havoc; they've been attacking all the checkpoints, but especially around the park, there's not even a checkpoint to be spoken of: it's a bullet-ridden sieve. That's why they're defending Grunwald Bridge; if they could secure the park, they wouldn't have to.

– Verse 119 from the chapter called Arms

Your father feigned nonchalance. There was little he could think of. Sitting in his dead grandmother's apartment - which didn't belong to him - which belonged to a man who was buried in the back lot - he ruminated. Having invited a black cat into his room, he watched it hunt. "Look at this stray cat," he said. "He hunts for flies even though his paws are incapable of grasping them. He has hunted all day long, from one corner of the room to the other. Each time he gets close, he rears up on his hind legs and grasps in vain. The fly simply flies away to another wall. In the end, the cat may crush the fly and kill it, but he will never be able to capture it. That lies beyond his natural power."

– Verse 83 from the chapter called Bohemia

Jesus's father was beyond tears. My sister's disappearance caused only more lethargy and more heroin use. Before long, he refused to eat. He refused to get up out of bed. He stopped selling the few books he had left. If not for the robbery, Jesus would've been forced to sell the television, or worse, the radio. He had stolen six hundred dollars from the Krupnik. My grandmother had once told me the story of how she had robbed an old woman of half a round of cheese and all her bread. "You have not sinned," said the priest. "You did not take her food out of spite or for pleasure, but because you were hungry." Jesus only spent a third of his booty on bread.

"Was it good?" I asked. "Robbing a Krupnik?"

– Verses 665-666 from the chapter called Adolescence