If you’re reading to find friends, you’re in deep trouble.

The more accurately one can illuminate a particular human experience, the better the work of art.

If I had to summarize, most broadly, my concerns as a writer, I'd say the question 'How then must we live?' is at the heart of it, for me.

We read to find life, in all its possibilities.

If you’re reading to find friends, you’re in deep trouble. We read to find life, in all its possibilities. The relevant question isn’t ‘Is this a potential friend for me?’ but ‘Is this character alive?'

Yes, writing is essential to me. It's my way of living in the world.

But we're lost in a world of appearances now.