You Know, The Point Of A Novel

There Are So Many People Who Are So Much Better Qualified To Write About Politics Than I Am.

I Have Always Found The Times When Another Person Recognizes You To Be Strangely Sad; I Suspect The Pathos Of These Moments Is Their Rareness, The Way They Contrast With Most Daily Encounters. That Reminder That It Can Be Different, That You Need Not Go Through Your Life Unknown But That You Probably Still Will--that Is The Part That's Almost Unbearable.

Later On, When I Tried To Imagine How I Might Have Ruined Things, That Would Occur To Me - That I'd So Rarely Resisted, That I Hadn't Made It Hard Enough For Him. Maybe It Was Like Gathering Your Strength And Hurling Your Body Against A Door You Believe To Be Locked, And Then The Door Opens Easily - It Wasn't Locked At All - And You're Standing Looking Into The Room, Trying To Remember What It Was You Thought You Wanted.

I Like It When Characters Are Some Combination Of Appealing And Maybe Flawed Or Self-interested. I Think In Terms Of Scenes, And What I Want A Scene To Achieve, And I Think That The Psychological Realism Arises From That.

The Better You Learn To Take Care Of Yourself, The Less You Settle For Being Around People Who Can't Or Won't Treat You As Well As You're Accustomed.