In the final exam in the Chaucer course we were asked why he used certain verbal devices, certain adjectives, why he had certain characters behave in certain ways. And I wrote, 'I don't think Chaucer had any idea why he did any of these things. That isn't the way people write.' I believe this as strongly now as I did then. Most of what is best in writing isn't done deliberately.

With each book I write, I become more and more convinced that the books have a life of their own, quite apart from me.

I like the fact that in ancient Chinese art the great painters always included a deliberate flaw in their work: human creation is never perfect.

To grow up is to accept vulnerability. To be alive is to be vulnerable.

I love, therefore I am vulnerable.

To marry is the biggest risk in human relations that a person can take.

That's a sure way to tell about somebody--the way they play, or don't play, make-believe.