In families there are frequently matters of which no one speaks, nor even alludes. There are no words for these matters. As the binding skeleton beneath the flesh is never acknowledged by us and, when at last it defines itself, is after all an obscenity.

the music was always in the background, like music at a church service; it was something to depend upon.

If you are a writer you locate yourself behind a wall of silence and no matter what you are doing, driving a car or walking or doing housework you can still be writing, because you have that space.

No, the thing is, we all love storytelling, and as a writer you get to tell stories all the time.

People might be surprised to know how much I throw away. For every page I publish, I throw 10 pages away.

I learned you don't discover the evidence of any cause in its result.

I don't think I'm morbid by nature. Serious writers have always written about serious subjects. Lighthearted material doesn't appeal to me, and I don't read it. I think I'm a realist, with a realistic sensibility of history and the tragedy of history.