I write because I want to have more than one life.

People always talked about a mother's uncanny ability to read her children, but that was nothing compared to how children could read their mothers.

When I read, I'm purely a reader

The Amateur Marriage grew out of the reflection that of all the opportunities to show differences in character, surely an unhappy marriage must be the richest.

Sooner or later, even the sharpest pain became flattened.

Mostly it's lies, writing novels. You set out to tell an untrue story and you try to make it believable, even to yourself. Which calls for details; any good lie does.

Just because we're related doesn't mean we are any good at understanding each other.