[ He tries to shrug casually, as though he were indifferent. But how could that be convincing? ]

It's not the only thing I can't go back from. [ That isn't a lie. ]

Anyway, they mostly told me to stop complaining. It's not the sort of thing you can write poetry about. [ Eugenides cannot physically air quote and nor would the gesture occur to him organically, but his tone of voice provides much the same effect. ] "To you alone, Attolis, we give these gifts: a nagging rebuke and an early bedtime."

[ Not exactly the shield of righteous conviction or the awe of men. ]