We are taught that we can be better than we are. But is there a limit to how good we can be?

I think even with women who come across with a tough exterior, the interior is the same. I think you'll find this with women around the word: some women, because of their circumstances, are forced to be tougher, forced to cultivate tougher exteriors.

We all have some ideological quotient in ourselves. And I think it does guide who we are.

When writing dialogue, I hear it in both Russian and English, and try to find a language that combines the two.

When you write a book, you want to have fidelity to the character. Characters and their emotions guide the structure of the novel. The author is aware that there's a certain amount of information she/he has to provide in order to satisfy the reader, knowing that she/he has set something up that must be paid off, but this payment must be made while maintaining fidelity to the characters.

I think every book is a reaction to everything you're written before, and most immediately to the book you wrote just before.

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