The world was ending then, it's ending still, and I'm happy to belong to it again.

The reader is a friend, not an adversary, not a spectator.

Fiction is a particularly effective way for strangers to connect across time and distance

It's not surprising to see in my own work, looking back, and in the work of some of my peers, an attention to family. It's nice to write a book that does tend toward significance and meaning, and where else are you sure of finding it?

The reason this system can’t be overthrown in this country,” Walter said, “is all about freedom. The reason the free market in Europe is tempered by socialism is that they’re not so hung up on personal liberties there. They also have lower population growth rates, despite comparable income levels. The Europans are all-around more rational, basically. And the conversation about rights in this country isn’t rational. It’s taking place on the level of emotion, and class resentments, which is why the right is so good at exploiting it.

It's very liberating for me to realize that I don't have to step up to the plate with a plot that involves the U.N. Security Council.

I find it a huge strain to be responsible for my tastes and be known and defined by them.