People say you’re born innocent, but it’s not true. You inherit all kinds of things that you can do nothing about. You inherit your identity, your history, like a birthmark that you can’t wash off.
When you’re young, you can change your identity. You can escape from your family and change your name, leave your country, go to live in a new city and not tell anyone where you come from. You can disguise yourself like an actor and choose what to forget. But there is always something that gives you away, some tell-tale part of you that cannot be hidden.
Hugo Hamilton, The Sailor in the Wardrobe, Fourth Estate, 2006