This idea that a book can either be about character and feeling, or about politics and idea, is just a false binary. Ideas are an expression of the feelings and the intense emotions we hold about the world.

The oldest principle of composition: repeat everything.

I would say the flip side to my fascination with systems is a fascination with components. So many of my books are dialogues between little and big.

I used to work for 12 or 14 hours at a time but the digital age has made such happy immersions almost impossible.

I don't mind arguing with myself. It's when I lose that it bothers me.

For me, university was just awful because it was closing one door after the other of all these candy shops of professional possibilities.

Evil is the refusal to see one's self in others.