For me a paragraph in a novel is a bit like a line in a poem. It has its own shape, its own music, its own integrity.

If the world weren't such a beautiful place, we might all turn into cynics

I sometimes feel that my goal as a novelist would be to write a novel in which the language was so transparent that the reader would forget that language was the medium of understanding. Of course that's not possible, but it's some sort of idealized goal.

I think there might be some pressure released while I'm doing autobiographical work, but afterwards everything remains the same.

For some reason, all my characters come to me with their names attached to them. I never have to search for the names.

and now we get to the hard part. the endings, the farewells, and the famous last words. if you don't hear from me often, remember that you're in my thoughts.

Farts come from no one and nowhere; they are anonymous emanations that belong to the group as a whole, and even when every person in the room can point to the culprit, the only sane course of action is denial.