Kjell Askildsen

“Tell me one thing, Father. Suppose I hadn't been your son, suppose you just knew me, knew the same about me you know now, would you have looked forward to seeing me, to having me live under your roof?'

'Naturally, it wouldn't have been the same.'

'No. And if you had just been a fellow human and not my father, then I wouldn't have come to see you. But doesn't that mean it's nothing but a convention that binds us together? We are father and son, and so we have to show affection for each other, and if we don't we feel guilty. But why? Is there any reasonable basis for believing that affection hinges on biology? We don't feel obligated to be fond of a neighbor or a colleague, do we?”
― Kjell Askildsen, A Sudden Liberating Thought

“Livet tar snart slutt likevel,
og da gjør det ikke noe at du har vært ensom og stygg og ulykkelig.”
― Kjell Askildsen, Et stort øde landskap