“He could have told her to fuck off, of course, especially as Drenka would have participated as ardently in the threesome without the money as with, but to agree for a night to act as her john seemed to do as much for him as it did for her to pretend to be his prostitute.”

This excerpt captures the nature of Drenka and Sabbath’s relationship and why it matters to each of them. Both are willing to break societal norms and perform uncomfortable roles for their own pleasure and each other’s.

“[W]hat had him grasping at the broadening buttocks as though the tattooist Time had ornamented neither of them with its comical festoonery was his knowing inescapably that the game was just about over.”

From an early point in the novel, Sabbath is very cognizant of how his aging impacts him and his decision-making. In this instance, he recognizes that he engages with Drenka with a fervor not typical of their old bodies because he knows he can only do it for so much longer.

“Life was as unthinkable for Sabbath without the successful innkeeper’s promiscuous wife as it was for her without the remorseless puppeteer. No one to conspire with, no one on earth with whom to give free rein to his most vital need!”

Sabbath and Drenka work so well together because they enjoy a true partnership. They are on an adventure together, and through each other, they are able to reach new heights in their exploration of the body.