I think the most effective forms of critique are ones that establish a common ground for people to occupy, and then appeal to the best nature of people on that common ground.

I really do believe that people surprise you. And one of the powerful things about novels is that they're about characters, and those characters live their lives.

I was, in my own eyes, a veritable James Bond — only younger, darker, and possibly better paid.

I think the idea of migration through time is very important because every human being does that and it unites us with people who migrate through geography.

Writing a novel is like an amusement park or a museum or a city. You go into that place and you have certain experiences and those experiences, hopefully, have some impact on you.

The animosity between India and Pakistan is deeply unfortunate and dangerous, and it's something I've long campaigned to reduce. But right now, when there's artillery being exchanged in Kashmir - which is not for from here, either - and there are 100-ish nuclear weapons on each side of the border, there's never really been a case like this where two nuclear armed countries are happily shelling each other.

I believe one can gauge a book's impact only after about 10 years.