How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #10
There was no physical address, but he could write her a simple message. It took him only two hours to do so. Less than two hundred words. They were the most important words that Robert Gu had ever written. (35.98)
As we know from "Literature and Writing" (and also from the whole book), Robert is (or was) a pretty good put-words-togetherer. And yet, when it comes to writing his ex-wife a letter, it takes him forever to write a simple message. The quote here drives this home by switching between making it seem simple—"a simple message," "less than two hundred words"—and emphasizing how hard and important it is—it takes two hours, and they are "the most important words." No matter how easy it is to communicate, it can be hard to tell people how you feel.