A book should either allow us to escape existence or teach us how to endure it.

I'm wonderfully self-lacerating, probably to my character's detriment. I'm terribly open to critique.

Momentum, in literary mosaic, derives not from narrative but from the subtle, progressive buildup of thematic resonances.

A book should either allow us to escape existence or teach us how to endure it.

If I'm reading a book and it seems truly interesting, I tend to start reading back to front in order not to be too deeply under the sway of progress.

Nonfiction, qua label, is nothing more or less than a very flexible (easily breakable) frame that allows you to pull the thing away from narrative and toward contemplation, which is all I've ever wanted.

The absence of plot leaves the reader room to think about other things.