The object of the passion is just an accessory to the passion itself.

I cannot believe homosexuality is that much fun. Heterosexuality certainly is not.

[George Saunders] is very precise about what he is doing. There isn't a thing left to chance.

It's difficult to tell the truth about how a book begins. The truth, as far as it can be presented to other people, is either wholly banal or too intimate.

As far as I'm concerned, if you want to find out about the last day of WWII or the roots of the Indian Mutiny, get thee to a books catalogue.

An essential part of power is the freedom not to think too deeply

I have a natural tendency to feel well about the world, I suppose, one way or another. But then there is the problem of pain. There are things like [Abraham] Lincoln's beloved little boy dying.