I was living in New York at the time of the 9/11 attacks. And I remember, you know, in those weeks that followed, when none of us spoke about anything else really, a number of friends of mine, people I knew, including very experienced journalists, I heard them saying things like, well, now we understand what happened to you.

The Koran was revealed at a time of great change in the Arab world, the seventh-century shift from a matriarchal nomadic culture to an urban patriarchal system.

I don't think people cry reading 'Midnight's Children,' but a lot of people seem to cry watching the movie.

I am on Facebook, but mainly as a way to spy on my children. I find out more about them from their Facebook pages than from what they tell me.

Home is the place where you feel happy.

Captain Ahab drowned, he reminded himself; it was the trimmer, Ishmael, who survived.

When thought becomes excessively painful, action is the finest remedy.