There Is Little Consolation In The Fact

A Novel Is Not Moral In The Usual Sense Of The Word. It Can Be Called Moral When It Shakes Us Out Of Our Stupor And Makes Us Confront The Absolutes We Believe In.

The Stories From Iran's Present And Past Are Reminders That Freedom, Democracy And Human Rights, Or Fundamentalism, Fascism And Terrorism Are Not Geographically And Culturally Determined, But Universal.

Only Curiosity About The Fate Of Others, The Ability To Put Ourselves In Their Shoes, And The Will To Enter Their World Through The Magic Of Imagination, Creates This Shock Of Recognition. Without This Empathy There Can Be No Genuine Dialogue, And We As Individuals And Nations Will Remain Isolated And Alien, Segregated And Fragmented.

You Don't Read Gatsby, I Said, To Learn Whether Adultery Is Good Or Bad But To Learn About How Complicated Issues Such As Adultery And Fidelity And Marriage Are. A Great Novel Heightens Your Senses And Sensitivity To The Complexities Of Life And Of Individuals, And Prevents You From The Self-righteousness That Sees Morality In Fixed Formulas About Good And Evil.

She Was One Of Those People Who Are Irrevocably, Incurably Honest And Therefore Both Inflexible And Vulnerable At The Same Time.