Another thing I learned is that novels, even those from apparently distant times and places, remain current and enlightening, and also comforting.

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.

I had spent years thinking about one thing while I was doing another. I had, in fact, prided myself on being able to do two things at once.

In the traditional urban novel, there is only survival or not. The suburban idea, the conformist idea, that agony can be seen to and cured by doctors or psychoanalysis or self-knowledge is nowhere to be found in the city. Talking is a way of life, but it is not a cure. Same with religion.

Writing novels is an essentially amateur activity.

The essence of charity ... was not deciding what others needed and giving it to them, but giving them what they wanted.

I was an only child. I've known only children. From this experience, I do believe that the children should outnumber the parents.