I lost many literary battles the day I read 'Their Eyes Were Watching God.' I had to concede that occasionally aphorisms have their power. I had to give up the idea that Keats had a monopoly on the lyrical.

I never bought the idea of individual genius from which the novel spews forth. It's always an act of curation.

For me, George Saunders novel [Lincoln in the Bardo] is about a problem of pain.

I am the sole author of the dictionary that defines me.

He had her in his heart, but not always in his mind.

Generally, women can't do this, but men retain the ancient ability to leave a family and a past. They just unhook themselves, like removing a fake beard, and skulk discreetly back into society, changed men. Unrecognizable.

Nowadays, I know the true reason I read is to feel less alone, to make a connection with a consciousness other than my own.