Does a man become a revolutionary out of the belief he's entitled to joy rather than submission?

The wrong words are impossible when there are no words.

Growing food was the first activity that gave us enough prosperity to stay in one place, form complex social groups, tell our stories, and build our cities.

the novel is inherently a political instrument, regardless of its subject. It invites you - more than invites you, induces you - to live inside another person's skin. It creates empathy. And that's the antidote to bigotry. The novel doesn't just tell you about another life, which is what a newspaper would do. It makes you live another life, inhabit another perspective. And that's very important.

Plot comes first. The plot is the archictecture of your novel. You wouldn't build a house without a plan. If I wrote without a plot, it would just be a pile of bricks. Characters are your servants. They must serve your plot.

What you lose in blindness is the space around you, the place where you are, and without that you might not exist. You could be nowhere at all.

You can’t replace people you love with other people…But you can trust that you’re not going to run out of people to love.