American literature has always been immigrant.

The point is always reached after which the gods no longer share their lives with mortal men and women, they die or wither away or retire... Now that they've gone, the high drama's over. What remains is ordinary human life.

When you have children, your perspective on the parent-child relationship alters.

One either loves, or waits for love, or banishes love for good. That is the full range of possible choices.

The acceptance that all that is solid has melted into the air, that reality and morality are not givens but imperfect human constructs, is the point from which fiction begins.

Even when things are at their worst, there's a little voice in your head saying, 'Good story!'

It's a terrible thing that your life turns into a good story.