It is one of the paradoxes of American literature that our writers are forever looking back with love and nostalgia at lives they couldn't wait to leave.

When friends stop being frank and useful to each other, the whole world loses some of its radiance.

In an age like ours, which is not given to letter-writing, we forget what an important part it used to play in people's lives.

Aphorisms are bad for novels. They stick in the reader's teeth.

There are few things more subtly distressing than an inappropriate gift from someone close to you.

If a book is really good, it deserves to be read again, and if it's great, it should be read at least three times.

Ruefulness is one of the classical tones of American fiction. It fosters a native, deglamorized form of anxiety.