I would always be a better hater of things and institutions than a lover of them.

No story is a straight line. The geometry of a human life is too imperfect and complex, too distorted by the laughter of time and the bewildering intricacies of fate to admit the straight line into its system of laws.

The only word for goodness is goodness, and it is not enough.

Good writing ... involves the agony of turning profoundly difficult thoughts into lucid form, then forcing them into the tight-fitting uniform of language, making them visible and clear.

You do not learn how to write novels in a writing program. You learn how by leading an interesting life. Open yourself up to all experience. Let life pour through you the way light pours through leaves.

I would always be a better hater of things and institutions than a lover of them.

One can learn anything, anything at all, I thought, if provided by a gifted and passionate teacher.