Sinclair Lewis may be ripe for a revival; his books raise several interesting issues of art and fashion.

I don't know - is everything the U.S. does a shocking embarrassment?

The fundamental condition of childhood is powerlessness.

I love to write about sex. You just have to make it idiosyncratic. You have to have a strong comprehension of your characters, and write it from their point of view. It's really fun. It's not erotic.

When I went to first grade and the other children said that their fathers were farmers, I simply didn't believe them. I agreed in order to be polite, but in my heart I knew that those men were impostors, as farmers and as fathers, too. In my youthful estimation, Laurence Cook defined both categories. To really believe that others even existed in either category was to break the First Commandment.

Men are competent in groups that mimic the playground, incompetent in groups that mimic the family

My characters never die screaming in rage. They attempt to pull themselves back together and go on. And that's basically a conservative view of life.