People move because of the wear and tear of anxiety. Because of the gnawing feeling that no matter how hard they work their efforts will yield nothing, that what they build up in one year will be torn down in one day by others. Because of the impression that the future is blocked up, that *they* might do all right but not their children. Because of the feeling that nothing will change, that happiness and prosperity are possible only somewhere else.
Yann MartelI ask you, is it the fig tree's fault that it's not the season for figs? What kind of thing is that to do to an innocent tree, wither it instantly?
Yann MartelThat's what fiction is about, isn't it, the selective transforming of reality? The twisting of it to bring out its essence?
Yann MartelArt is a gift: you create and then you give away. How readers receive that gift is their business. If they hate it, thatโs their response to it. Others respond by liking it. Either way, that is their interaction with the book, which is no longer mine.
Yann MartelZoo is an artificial territory, an approximation. Civilization is our natural territory.
Yann Martel