Somehow, you can achieve a directness in the novel that you can't get anywhere else.

Another older writer that had a huge influence on me is Chekhov. More contemporarily, it's hard to say.

Most great books have been about striving in some sense. In a sense, money is the great topic of the novel. You couldn't necessarily say that about poetry.

A lot of writers choose to live in New York, partly because of the literary culture here, and partly because Brooklyn's a pretty nice place to live. And a lot of writers who might not geographically reside in New York still point their ambitions towards New York in some sense.

Most writers, most books, you have no idea whether it was a dollar or a million dollars.

To my parents, writing seemed precarious and not the best idea.

Other things awaited. It was good to be young and to know it for once. So much unfolding to do.