I think a good novel can be a doorstop to despair. I also think the real bravery comes with those who prepared to go through that door and look at the world in all its grime and torment, and still find something of value, no matter how small.

Personally, I like the social novel. I like writing that gets in and under the hood and looks about - at what's going on. But I don't say to any writer that that's absolutely what they should do.

The Irish are great for their tunes, but all their lovesongs are sad and their warsongs happy.

How inevitable it is; we step into an ordinary moment and never come out again.

I have the most charmed, most - I feel entirely blessed and lucky that I have the life that I have.

She likes the people with the endurance to tolerate the drudge, the ones who know that pain is a requirement, not a curse.

I don't know of a greater privilege than being allowed to tell a story, or to listen to a story. They're the only thing we have that can trump life itself.