Thing that was very different for me is that an American child's reading is filled with Americans.

Immigration, a lexicon. You're a 'migrant' when you're very poor; 'immigrant' when you're not so poor; and 'expat' when you're rich.

Historical novels, in particular, allow us to relive the past without the neatness of history, and with all the complexity of the present.

In some ways, I think it's the closest that we come to the truth — is in the form of fiction.

The universe had an odd sense of fairness; it took away things one did not want to give up, and then gave things one did not ask for.

A name is precious; it carries inside it a language, a history, a set of traditions, a particular way of looking at the world. Losing it meant losing my ties to all those things too.

No one wrote better about the sin of pride, the corruption of power and the redemption of love. I will miss you, Gabriel García Márquez.

There are writers I return to no matter what I'm working on, writers like the South African J.M. Coetzee. He has an ability to make you feel that he is writing for you alone.

I began reading in French. I didn't read in English until high school.

There is a insularity within American fiction even for adults. It's very tough for books in translation in the US.

I love James Baldwin essays, but also his novels. I recently read "Another Country." I couldn't believe how ahead of his time he was.

How can we tell when trouble shall arise?

I'm not big on regret - until time travel actually exists, it seems like a waste of making yourself feel bad

Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast,

I made a resolution in 2010 to stop drinking Diet Coke, and I haven't had Diet Coke since then. I think it was the best life change I've ever made, because I drank quite a lot of it.

There is no use whatsoever in trying to help people who do not help themselves.

We can't afford more top-down economics. What we need are policies that will grow and strengthen the middle class.

If you cannot accept an external event immediately, then some kind of resistance will come up. And there may be some external events you cannot accept at all.

I don't take compliments very easily. I think most musicians suffer from low self-esteem to some extent.

Our pluralist society must provide its citizens with the tools to understand religions, their symbols and their practices.

I think Hollywood sees so many parts of America through a very narrow prism. The South is no exception. And those stereotypes, while sometimes true, are exaggerated for me to the point of boredom.