When readers don't like the book, it's usually because they feel that romantic love is pass or somehow needs more irony.

It's better to be nominated for awards than not to be nominated for them, but of course to some degree such awards [National Book Award] are always subjective.

What's agitating about solitude is the inner voice telling you that you should be mated to somebody, that solitude is a mistake. The inner voice doesn't care about who you find. It just keeps pestering you, tormenting you.

[T]he astonishing purity of pain, how it will not be mixed with any other sensation.

When blame has been assigned, the story is over.

Because it is the Midwest, no one really glitters because no one has to, it's more of a dull shine, like frequently used silverware.

You think that what I've told you is an anecdote. But really it isn't. It's my whole life. It's the only story I have.