I'm Not Altogether Certain That

…everything Has A Past. Everything – A Person, An Object, A Word, Everything. If You Don’t Know The Past, You Can’t Understand The Present And Plan Properly For The Future.

A Man Must Fill His Life With Meaning, Meaning Is Not Automatically Given To Life.

Literature Presents You With Alternate Mappings Of The Human Experience. You See That The Experiences Of Other People And Other Cultures Are As Rich, Coherent, And Troubled As Your Own Experiences. They Are As Beset With Suffering As Yours. Literature Is A Kind Of Legitimate Voyeurism Through The Keyhole Of Language Where You Really Come To Know Other People's Lives--their Anguish, Their Loves, Their Passions. Often You Discover That Once You Dive Into Those Lives And Get Below The Surface, The Veneer, There Is A Real Closeness.

It's Not A Pretty World, Papa.' 'i've Noticed,' My Father Said Softly.

If I Had A Plot That Was All Set In Advance, Why Would I Want Go Through The Agony Of Writing The Novel? A Novel Is A Kind Of Exploration And Discovery, For Me At Any Rate.