When you write a book, you want to have fidelity to the character. Characters and their emotions guide the structure of the novel.

Why are some people highly principled and willing to do anything for their principles, while most of us are not? And I am willing to not only ask, but also answer the question.

I think having an uncompromising ideology eventually forces you out of the norm.

I believe I'm very conscious of exactly what I'm doing. I'm auditioning lines of dialogue, and I'm interrogating whether the lines would translate from Russian into English the right way. The English that results can perhaps seem somewhat more formal than colloquial, but not so formal as to feel academic.

In my experience of women, women have a greater capacity. Maybe women, even very pragmatic ones, are less guarded about showing emotions.

There are different types of readers. People draw lines at which three things intersect: the character, the author, and the reader.

When you write a book, you want to have fidelity to the character. Characters and their emotions guide the structure of the novel.