Whoa!" he says with a smile. The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes deepen. "Chicken salad a la George Orwell!

In Japan, the writers have made up a literary community, a circle, a society. I think 90 percent of Japan's writers live in Tokyo. Naturally, they make a community. There are groups and customs, and so they are tied up in a way.

I don't really know if it's the right thing to do, making new life. Kids grow up, generations take their place. What does it all come to? More hills bulldozed and more ocean fronts filled in? Faster cars and more cats run over? Who needs it?

It was a short one-paragraph item in the morning edition.

I’m me, and at the same time not me. That’s what it felt like. A very still, quiet feeling.

Learning another language is like becoming another person.

I don't know how many good books I still have in me; I hope there are another four or five.