How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Really, the Creator is the one I have the grievance with. Not the Boss. The Boss is just doing his job like the rest of us, just fulfilling his function. The Creator is the one who set up all the rules. (1.5)
Hmm… is it just us, or does it seem like Kiriel has some unfinished business with the Creator? He knows the guy must have his reasons, but it doesn't make sense the way he sees it. Kiriel's whole idea of spirituality is based on his notion of the Creator and the Boss.
Quote #2
I have never been anything but spirit—anywhere and everywhere I wanted to be, just never in a physical sense. This was the first time I was ever in exactly one place. Before, I could have known what anybody on earth was doing, if I'd felt like it. (1.15)
As we start to get to know Kiriel, we realize how different his life has been from ours—he doesn't even have a body. It's hard to conceptualize, but this helps us understand him better. He thinks about the beauty in life because of his body—or lack thereof.
Quote #3
Creator, I thought, I'm sorry I didn't understand what a bang-up job. You did on this place. He didn't answer, of course. (1.34)
Did you catch the mocking tone here? Good. Kiriel begins to talk to the Creator about the wonderful beauty in everyday life. Too bad the guy doesn't answer him. Yet, we can't help but wonder if the Creator does take notice since he sends an angel down after Kiriel later on.
Quote #4
I don't like the term "demon." It carries quite a bit of negativity with it. It implies a pointy tail and cloven hooves. I prefer the term "fallen angel." That is, indeed, what we are. (2.1)
Perhaps the reason Kiriel doesn't like the term demon is because everyone tosses it around like a dirty word. Hey, we wouldn't want to be called that either. His preference shows us how little we know about what it's like to be anything other than human.
Quote #5
The only uplifting times are when, usually after millennia of suffering, a single soul suddenly, for no reason that's apparent to me, decides that it's had enough, that it's paid the price for its wrongs, and it sort of twists itself inside out, shedding its misery to go free. It's a beautiful, memorable, and very rare event. (2.11)
A soul vanishing into the great abyss is beautiful and moving to Kiriel. Why? Because it's not suffering anymore. Think about watching people in pain day in and day out. Kiriel gets sick of it but manages to find the beauty in the moment it ends for people.
Quote #6
But from the way souls whine and moan around the afterlife, you'd think that Sloth and Envy were biggies, equal to murder. Why do they call them the Seven Deadly Sins? I couldn't tell you. And I have no influence on any of the souls I supervise. (3.3)
Kiriel makes sure to point out that he's just the messenger. He doesn't supervise or influence souls in any way, shape, or form; all he does is hold a mirror up for them. Sure, that sounds nicer than tormenting them, but he's still a part of the operation down there.
Quote #7
The Rebellion wasn't a physical act, because we are not physical creatures. It was a spiritual uprising, an unauthorized outpouring of zeal. (5.28)
It's hard for us to wrap our heads around the idea of being spirits instead of humans. Still, Kiriel gives us glimpses into his life as a Fallen angel and we begin to get it. One perk of being a spirit? No physical body, so nothing is a huge fight in the way we think of it—no blood and guts to spill.
Quote #8
An eternity of wishing to speak directly to my Creator, I thought in despair—and this is how He finally contacts me? Through AOL Instant Messenger? (14.5)
Someone with the AOL user name angeloftheLord gets in touch with Kiriel and he starts questioning everything he knows about life. It's important to note that he still notices spirits wherever he goes. Whether he's on earth as a human or in hell as a demon, there are spirits everywhere.
Quote #9
Maybe the reason no one cares about my absence, I thought, is that I don't have to be there. Maybe my job is superfluous. Maybe the souls don't really need a mirror. (20.56)
Kiriel questions this, but eventually, he's summoned back to hell. He wishes he could control what happens with all angels and demons, but the truth is that he can't. Translation: souls do need a mirror.
Quote #10
What if I gave some of the souls in my care a teensy nudge or two? Whispered in their ears—so to speak—that perhaps they could take mini-vacations of their own? A soul who'd left corporeal existence fairly recently would surely like to pay a comforting visit to a loved one. Souls who'd left the earthly plane long ago might enjoy a quick tour of the places their feet had once trod, to see how things had changed. A particularly weary soul might prefer to merely float in peaceful nothingness, leaving its torments behind for a bit. (24.75)
Do you think this would actually work? Sure, Kiriel wants to give others the relief he's gotten, but we can't imagine the Boss—or the Creator for that matter—would be too happy if everyone starting taking vacations.