I just want fiction to remain a vital force for entertainment and not just for contemplation. Both things can exist.

In contravention of my belief that any life ending in death is essentially pointless, I needed my friends to open up that plastic bag and take one last look at me. Someone had to remember me, if only for a few more minutes in the vast silent waiting room of time.

My mother cranes her neck. Her ability to be fascinated by things is her best gift to me.

You are not what you want. You are what wants you back.

People always write on my Facebook that they've seen somebody they thought was me on the subway, and I was cursing badly.

I love librarians more than any other people in the world. When I was an immigrant kid, they’ve made me feel like a human being and they gave me books that taught me English.

If my mother hadn't tried to sell me chicken Kiev cutlets for $1.40 after I graduated from college, maybe I would've been the lawyer she wanted me to be.