How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
It was dumb luck that brought us together. No conspiracy was involved at first. It was I who knocked on his door, invaded his privacy. If I hadn't carved that chess set, we never would have met. (11.23)
This story wouldn't be a story without Kraft's betrayal, and Campbell wouldn't have met Kraft if it weren't for the random urge to 1) carve a chess set, and 2) show it to someone. The mechanism of chance in this instance works through both creativity and the need to connect to another human. But doesn't that mean that there's something intentional about this meeting? Maybe the chance meeting is not so random after all?
Quote #2
I induced him to unlock them all by asking him if he played chess. There was dumb luck again. Nothing else would have made him open up. (11.25)
Coincidence alert. Of course, we don't really know if this is true. We're going along happily reading the novel, when this great moment comes. We're like, "Ooooooh—fated friendship." But if we step back, we can see that this could also just be the story Campbell tells himself. Why is he being so victim-blame-y towards himself? Weird.
Quote #3
'My name is Dr. Jones. I have a surprise for you,' he said. (14.24)
No joke: this sentence is super creepy in isolation. Okay, it's creepy in context, too. Campbell's life is about to get flipped upside down and turned inside out, because Jones is about to offer him a link to his past: Helga. Except—spoiler alert—it's not really Helga. You can't trust anyone or anything around here.