We go to literature because it shows us some set of humane values. It is showing us how to live.

Our need to identify with representative figures is something that never goes away. We still find those in novels. We find those in television. We find them in movies. We find them all over the place.

The novelist is frequently considered to be an impediment.

I do have complicated feelings about Hollywood, but I also have tremendously affectionate ones.

Everybody says, TV is great, the writer has so much power. I'm still trying to convince myself that's true. When do the writers ever have power? Ever? They don't. Even in the book industry.

During the 90s, I watched a lot of people getting fat and prosperous, and I thought, culture itself is the casualty of this.

I like writing sentences. It's tactile and exciting. Whereas working at the level of the scene is a more cerebral pleasure.