Neither of us says the word love, not once. It would be tempting fate; it would be romance, bad luck.

I'm interested in the Gothic novel because it's very much a woman's form. Why is there such a wide readership for books that essentially say, 'Your husband is trying to kill you'?

expectation isn't the same as desire

You could tell 'The Handmaid's Tale' from a male point of view. People have mistakenly felt that the women are oppressed, but power tends to organise itself in a pyramid. I could pick a male narrator from somewhere in that pyramid. It would interesting.

There's nothing like a shovel full of dirt to encourage literacy.

I'm a fool, to confuse this with goodness. I am not good. I know too much to be good. I know myself. I know myself to be vengeful, greedy, secretive and sly.

I felt white, drained of blood, cared for, purified. Peaceful.