Downstream is always someone else's up.

At some point in my life I'd honestly hoped love would rescue me from the cold, drafty castle I lived in. But at another point, much earlier I think, I'd quietly begun to hope for nothing at all in the way of love, so as not to be disappointed. It works. It gets to be a habit.

I considered her my ally, because, like me, she was imperfect.

Libraries are the one American institution you shouldn't rip off.

Vengeance does not subtract any numbers from the equation of murder; it only adds them.

A novel can educate to some extent, but first a novel has to entertain. That's the contract with the reader: you give me ten hours and I'll give you a reason to turn every page. I have a commitment to accessibility. I believe in plot. I want an English professor to understand the symbolism while at the same time I want the people I grew up with - who may not often read anything but the Sears catalog - to read my books.

Wars and elections are both too big and too small to matter in the long run. The daily work - that goes on, it adds up.