Genius Is An Infinite Capacity For Pain.

Creativity Is The Ability To See Relationships Where None Exist.

Though Opposition Is A Hopeless Task, Acquiescence Would Be Worse.

But The Toaster Was Quite Satisfied With Itself, Thank You. Though It Knew From Magazines That There Were Toasters Who Could Toast Four Slices At A Time, It Didn't Think That The Master, Who Lived Alone And Seemed To Have Few Friends, Would Have Wanted A Toaster Of Such Institutional Proportions. With Toast, It's Quality That Matters, Not Quantity.

So, Without Saying Anything To The Others, It Made Its Way To The Farthest Corner Of The Meadow And Began To Toast An Imaginary Muffin. That Was Always The Best Way To Unwind When Things Got To Be Too Much For It.

Gene Wolfe Has Produced A Work Of Art That Can Satisfy Adult Appetites And In Which Even The Most Fantastical Elements Register As Poetry Rather Than As Penny-whistle Whimsy.