My first book really did change my life. It allowed me to fully express myself. There was a sense that I was worth something as an artist.

A lot of the ways of advertising a book - the cover, whether somebody sees it on a subway or sees it in a bookstore - those things are going to rapidly diminish as we move to an electronic model.

I felt the weakness of these books, their immateriality, how they had failed to change the world, and I didn't want to sully myself with their weakness anymore.

Reading is entering into the consciousness of another human being.

Satire always benefits when evil and stupidity collide.

It is a capital insult in this country not to make love to a naked woman, even if she is related to you.

I write five, six days a week. The thing is capturing the voice. I feel like I've been perfecting one voice - in different iterations, sure, but the Russian-ness has always been the undercurrent.