English, as a subject, never really got over its upstart nature. It tries to bulk itself up with hopeless jargon and specious complexity, tries to imitate subjects it can never be.

I know a lot of people who read and think: "George [Saunders] is so much fun." There's no denying you're fun to read, but as a writer I think of [George Saunders] as, in fact, not a fun and freewheeling type but really an obsessive control artist.

Anyone over the age of thirty catching a bus can consider himself a failure.

Any woman who counts on her face is a fool.

A writer's duty is to register what it is like for him or her to be in the world.

You say you want to talk, But you don't . You stonewall me.

One thing you learn about the novel as a form is that it's always smarter than you are.