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.

Can't a rapper insist, like other artists, on a fictional reality, in which he is somehow still on the corner, despite occupying the penthouse suite?

The ideal reader cannot sleep when holding the writer he was meant to be with.

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

The greatest lie ever told about love is that it sets you free.

There's a perception that novels can't usually allow for your kind of absolute attention to detail.

I like books that don't give you an easy ride. I like the feeling of discomfort. The sense of being implicated.