Good films demand to be looked at several times in order to be observed completely.

I tend to think of myself as a highly emotional writer. It's all coming out of the deepest feelings, out of dreams, out of the unconscious.

I'm gregarious with writers and never with manuscripts . . . I [like to] create the illusion of seamless perfection, so I alone know the flawed homely process along the way.

I prefer old books and find them more relevant. I dislike new books. It's like drinking wine that's not ready.

I don't paint anymore. I haven't since I abandoned it at 19, in order to begin writing seriously.

Apologies aren't something you want to get in the habit of practicing in the mirror

Every book is a kind of experiment in doing something that feels impossible.