I do believe that reading can help you understand what you're writing and see what others are doing. But sometimes the desire for more information can act as an inhibitor.

I've never seen a worse situation than that of young writers in the United States. The publishing business in North America is so commercialized.

I have written every one of my novels to convince somebody of something.

Ironically, Latin American countries, in their instability, give writers and intellectuals the hope that they are needed.

The essayist has to follow a certain intellectual pattern. The novelist has the advantage of using fantasy, of being subjective.

I locate that special problem in a character and then try to understand it. That's the genesis of all my work.

I felt the need to tell stories to understand myself.