I envy those writers who outline their novels, who know where they're going. But I find writing is a process of discovery.

You know, Im always surprised when I read profiles, and they make me sound so jaded. I am so not jaded.

If being a spokesman for a generation is a fleeting occupation, being a symbol of an era is downright dangerous for anyone who has the bad luck to outlive it.

Most of the people I write about have been ambitious outlanders who have been attracted to New York from other parts of the world.

Anybody who becomes a movie star becomes successful at projecting a certain image to the public.

It's the cynics who never get married.

There is a shabby nobility in failing all by yourself.