We're not lost. We're locationally challenged

I don't think anyone wants a reader to be completely lost - certainly not to the point of giving up - but there's something to be said for a book that isn't instantly disposable, that rewards a second reading.

I'm very happy that the New York Times has spoken well of my stuff; who wouldn't be? But it's not a choice I made.

If I were to write Web now, it would be a much, much darker book.

Every book is three books, after all; the one the writer intended, the one the reader expected, and the one that casts its shadow when the first two meet by moonlight.

I long for the simplicity of theatre. I want lessons learned, comeuppances delivered, people sorted out, all before your bladder gets distractingly full. That's what I want. What I know is what we all know, whether we'll admit it or not: every attempt to impose the roundness of a well-made play on reality produces a disaster. Life just isn't so, nor will it be made so.

There are people who believe in an absolutely transparent prose; with every respect for clarity of expression, I don't.