An Urban Novelist Never Minds A Little

In The Traditional Urban Novel, There Is Only Survival Or Not. The Suburban Idea, The Conformist Idea, That Agony Can Be Seen To And Cured By Doctors Or Psychoanalysis Or Self-knowledge Is Nowhere To Be Found In The City. Talking Is A Way Of Life, But It Is Not A Cure. Same With Religion.

Mom Was A Smoker. My Grandfather Was A Smoker. My Aunts Were Smokers. My Uncles Were Smokers. I Don't Know Any Smokers Now, Not Even My Mom.

In December 1998, I Considered Myself An Expert On Love. I Was Almost A Year Into A Relationship, One That Had Grown More Slowly Than I Had Wished, But Once It Flowered It Was Much More Stimulating Than Any Marriage Or Relationship I Had Known.

I Loved The House The Way You Would Any New House, Because It Is Populated By Your Future, The Family Of Children Who Will Fill It With Noise Or Chaos And Satisfying Busy Pleasures.

English Majors Understand Human Nature Better Than Economists Do.