I usually write about ordinary people and ordinary things, but Paul Farmer is the least ordinary person I've ever met... He's the leader of a small group of people who hope to cure a sick world, and I hope my book can help in some small way.

People say you cant teach writing, but I think thats nonsense.

I'm going to a commune in Vermont and will deal with no unit of time shorter than a season.

I always want to write something better than the last book.

When I select a topic, it's usually a commitment of two to three years of my life

You can write about anything, and if you write well enough, even the reader with no intrinsic interest in the subject will become involved.

I wrote a novel about the combat experiences I didn't have in Vietnam.