The vast Pacific ocean would always remain the islanders' great solace, escape and nourishment, the amniotic fluid that would keep them hedonistic and aloof, guarded, gentle and mysterious.

one forgives parents as naturally as one emancipates oneself from them - usually shortly afterward.

Why are there no great women artists?' sounds as ignorant of human geography as the query 'Why are there no Eskimo tennis teams?

Mine [parents] started out more from scratch, because I'm constantly aware of what they suffered in the war.

I think we're much more eager to know about our parents than we were in the seventies.

The act of nutrition is not a purely physiological event... The family meal is a formality that cultivates in us... a capacity for sharing, generosity, thoughtfulness, a talent for civilized conversation.

One learns much more by writing fiction, because the insights come from those deeper subconscious levels where the greater and more interesting truths lie.