i'm going mad, i told myself. let me not be mad.

What reader wants to be told what attitude to strike?

Most of humanity gets by without reading novels or poetry, and no one would deny the richness of their thoughts.

A story lives transformed by a gesture not made or a word not spoken

This is the pain-pleasure of having newly adult children; they're innocent and ruthless in forgetting their sweet old dependence.

It was thought, perception, sensations that interested her, the conscious mind as a river through time, and how to represent its onward roll, as well as all the tributaries that would swell it, and the obstacles that would divert it. If only she could reproduce the clear light of a summer's morning.

Arguing with a dead man in a lavatory is a claustrophobic experience.