A novel is not a summary of its plot but a collection of instances, of luminous specific details that take us in the direction of the unsaid and unseen.
Charles BaxterThere's nothing to talk about to strangers anymore, if you know what I mean. Everything I want to say, I say to her.
Charles BaxterIt's better to be nominated for awards than not to be nominated for them, but of course to some degree such awards [National Book Award] are always subjective.
Charles BaxterWhat's agitating about solitude is the inner voice telling you that you should be mated to somebody, that solitude is a mistake. The inner voice doesn't care about who you find. It just keeps pestering you, tormenting you--if you happen to be me--with homecoming queens first, then girls next door, and finally anybody who might be pleased to see you now and then at the dinner table and in bed on occasion. You look up from reading the newspaper and realize that no one loves you, and no one burns for you.
Charles Baxter