You donโt have the slightest idea of what it means to write a scene and a character in the English language, with images and words chock full of received meaning.
Jonathan LethemI try to write every day. I don't beat myself up about word counts, or how many hours are ticking by on the clock before I'm allowed to go and do something else. I just try to keep a hand in and work every single day, even if there are other demands or I'm on a book tour or have the flu or something, because then I keep my unconscious engaged with the book. Then I'm always a little bit writing, no matter what else I'm doing.
Jonathan LethemListen to me. Iโm shy. Iโm not stupid. I canโt meet peopleโs eyes. I donโt know if you understand what thatโs like. Thereโs a whole world going on around me, Iโm aware of that. Itโs not because I donโt want to look at you, Lucinda. Itโs that I donโt want to be seen.
Jonathan LethemHow often had that hydrant even been opened? Did you jet water through a car window, what, twice at best? Summer burned just a few afternoons long, in the end. As for flying, Dose never even glanced at the sky. Flying was a summer within a summer, a whim. So why think of it at all?
Jonathan LethemI believe that written stories will continue to survive because they answer an essential human need. I think movies might disappear before the novel disappears, because the novel is really one of the only places in the world where two strangers can meet on terms of absolute intimacy.
Jonathan Lethem