"Unputdownable" is, I suppose, something we all dream of, maybe without knowing it. I realized, some time ago, that a novel can hold a lot, and it made sense that this one was not of the sleek and economical variety, but instead the "full" type. Novel as piรฑata. And the reader does the whacking. I had a central idea, which is to look at what happens to talent over time.
Meg WolitzerTo be anorexic...she thought, amounted to wanting to shed yourself of some of the imperfect mosaic of pieces that made you who you were. She could understand that now for, maybe underneath that desquamated self you would locate a new version.
Meg WolitzerThe only option for a creative person was constant motionโa lifetime of busy whirligigging in a generally forward direction, until you couldnโt do it any longer.
Meg WolitzerNew teachers were just a part of life, for a few days after one arrived, squawks of interest were emitted from various corners, but then they died away as the teacher was absorbed like everyone else...before you knew it, the fresh ones seemed to have been teaching there forever too, or else they didn't last very long, and were gone before you'd gotten to know them.
Meg WolitzerPart of the beauty of love was that you didnโt need to explain it to anyone else. You could refuse to explain. With love, apparently you didnโt necessarily feel the need to explain anything at all.
Meg WolitzerObjectifying your own novel while writing it never really helps. Instead, I guess while you're writing you need to think: This is the novel I want to write. And when you're done you need to think: This is what the novel I wanted to write feels like and reads like and looks like. Other people might call it sweeping or small, but it's the book you chose.
Meg Wolitzer