A Great Deal Of What

When I Pick A Story, I'm Very Much Aware Of The Larger Issues That It's Illuminating. But One Of The Things That I, As A Writer, Feel Strongly About Is That Nobody Is Representative. That's Just Narrative Nonsense. People May Be Part Of A Larger Story Or Structure Or Institution, But They're Still People. Making Them Representative Loses Sight Of That. Which Is Why A Lot Of Writing About Low-income People Makes Them Into Saints, Perfect In Their Suffering.

.. Becoming Attached To A Country Involves Pressing, Uncomfortable Questions About Justice And Opportunity For Its Least Powerful Citizens.

I Was Spending A Lot Of Time In Mumbai After I Met My Husband, Who Is Indian, And While Parts Of The City Were Prospering Like Crazy, I Couldn't Quite Make Out How The New Wealth Had Changed The Prospects Of The Majority Of City Residents Who Lived In Slums. So After A Few Years I Stopped Wondering And Started Reporting.

People Naturally Long For A Bit Of The Wealth That Is Whorling All Around Them, And If The Work And Education Available To Them Won't Get Them Closer To The Comforts That They See Others Enjoying, The Temptation To Take Shortcuts Can Be Fierce.

In Any Country, Corruption Tends To Increase When More Respectable Means Of Social Advancement Break Down.