I no longer believe that we can keep silent. We never really do, mind you. In one way or another we articulate what has happened to us through the kind of people we become.

Empathy lies at the heart of Gatsby, like so many other great novels-the biggest sin is to be blind to others problems and pains. Not seeing them means denying their existence.

She was one of those people who are irrevocably, incurably honest and therefore both inflexible and vulnerable at the same time.

Visa for Avalon is a testament to the power of fiction. It illuminates the truth at the heart of what is commonly called reality. This account of lives transformed and ruined by the triumph of a totalitarian rule is a timely reminder of how moral and intellectual laziness and apathy can pave the road to the reign of terror brought on by such a system.

There is little consolation in the fact that millions of people are unhappier than we are. Why should other people's misery make us happier or more content?

I'm a perfectly equipped failure.

The negative side of the American Dream comes when people pursue success at any cost, which in turn destroys the vision and the dream.