Short of a small range of physical acts-a fight, murder, lovemaking-dialogue is the most vigorous and visible inter-action of which characters in a novel are capable. Speech is what characters do to each other.

The most steady, the most self-sufficient nature depends, more than it knows, on its few chosen stimuli.

There is no end to the violations committed by children on children, quietly talking alone.

For people who live on expectations, to face up to their realization is something of an ordeal.

Meeting people unlike oneself does not enlarge one's outlook; it only confirms one's idea that one is unique.

Dialogue should show the relationships among people.

All my life I have said, "Whatever happens there will always be tables and chairs"--and what a mistake.