The generation that had information, but no context. Butter, but no bread. Craving, but no longing.

It seemed that everywhere you went, people quickly adapted to the way they had to live, and called it Life.

And specialness - everyone wants it. But Jesus, is it the most essential thing there is? Most people aren't talented. So what are they supposed to do - kill themselves?

You stayed around your children as long as you could, inhaling the ambient gold shavings of their childhood, and at the last minute you tried to see them off into life and hoped that the little piece of time you’d given them was enough to prevent them from one day feeling lonely and afraid and hopeless. You wouldn’t know the outcome for a long time.

The child who was happy with herself meant the parents had won the jackpot.

The generation that had information, but no context. Butter, but no bread. Craving, but no longing.

When I wrote The Interestings, I wanted to let time unspool, to give the book the feeling of time passing. I had to allow myself the freedom to move back and forth in time freely, and to trust that readers would accept this.