A Tale of Love and Darkness

I'm in the middle of Amos Oz's autobiography which is quickly becoming one of my favorite books. Oz ends an early chapter by asking and answering a question about S.Y. Agnon, a family friend and one of his favorite writers:

"What is it, in fact, that I learned from him?

Perhaps this. To cast more than one shadow. Not to pick the raisins from the cake. To rein in and polish pain. And one other thing, that my grandmother used to say in a sharper way than I have found it expressed by Agnon: "If you have no more tears to weep, then don't weep. Laugh."