I have a very serious censorship office inside my head; it censors things that I could tell you that you would never forget, and I don't want to be the person to stick that in your brain.

I don't really write plots. I use history as the engine that drives everything.

You write a lot of books; you hope you get better.

If you're a writer, you're always working.

You can't make accommodations in crucial situations and be heroic.

I write what I call 'novels of consolation' for people who are bright and sophisticated.

I'm basically an Upper West Side Jewish writer.