New York City in life was much like New York City in death. It was still hard to get a cab, for example.

We never see other people anyway, only the monsters we make of them.

A monster is a person who has stopped pretending.

The city knows you better than any living person because it has seen you when you are alone.

I'm an African-American writer, I'm a lazy writer, I'm a writer who likes to watch The Wire, I'm a writer who likes to eat a lot of steak.

I like movies. I've written screenplays as a sort of procrastination thing for me. Like I'll work for a couple months on this idea that's been kicking around and then like 30 pages in I'll just go try a novel because it's a lot easier. That's what I know. So why am I killing myself?

Talking about New York is a way of talking about the world.