I can't live for more than four years outside of Canada. I'm Canadian, so ultimately that is my reference point.
Yann MartelWe are all born like Catholics, aren't weโin limbo, without religion, until some figure introduces us to God?
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 MartelTo lose a brother is to lose someone with whom you can share the experience of growing old, who is supposed to bring you a sister-in-law and nieces and nephews, creatures who people the tree of your life and give it new branches. To lose your father is to lose the one whose guidance and help you seek, who supports you like a tree trunk supports its branches. To lose your mother, well, that is like losing the sun above you. It is like losing--I'm sorry, I would rather not go on.
Yann Martel