You use simple brushstrokes in a screenplay for things over which you would take much greater pains in a novel.

Not everyone writes well from a child's point of view.

...aware, as always, that the truth isn't much of substitute for a good answer.

I'll tell you one thing, though. It's a terrible thing to be a disappointment to a good woman.

If there's an enduring theme in my work, it's probably the effects of class on American life.

When I look back over my novels what I find is that when I think I'm finished with a theme, I'm generally not. And usually themes will recur from novel to novel in odd, new guises.

America has always been a nation of small places, and as we lose them, we're losing part of ourselves.