Author

I find that even small changes sometimes jog you out of a mental rut.

I read 'The Great Gatsby' in high school and was hypnotized by the beauty of the sentences and moved by the story about the irrevocability of lost love.

From Tom Perrotta

When I was writing 'The Abstinence Teacher,' I really tried to immerse myself in contemporary American evangelical culture.

From Tom Perrotta

I'm used to adapting my novels for feature film - it can be challenging to cut and compress three or four hundred pages into two hours of dramatic action.

From Tom Perrotta

When things don't go well, it helps to think of yourself as a genius and the rest of the world as a bunch of idiots.

From Tom Perrotta

I'm not sure that it's possible to write a novel about people who don't transgress or stumble, people who don't surprise themselves with the things they do, people who can explain all their actions with perfect logical consistency. At least it's not possible for me to write that sort of novel.

From Tom Perrotta

I think I'm fascinated by the power of religion in our culture. Like a lot of secular, liberal people, I ignored it for a long time. Lately, of course, just from a political perspective, it's impossible to ignore.

From Tom Perrotta

I did a lot of reading of the Bible and became fascinated with the idea of the Rapture. It's pretty wild. I hadn't heard of it until I was in college.

From Tom Perrotta

A screenwriter heard me read from my novel 'The Wishbones' when it was still in progress and mentioned me to some producers in Hollywood. They called, and I told them I had a novel in my drawer about a high school election that goes haywire. They asked to take a look, and my life changed pretty dramatically as a result.

From Tom Perrotta

As for writing about temptation, there's no drama without temptation, and no novel without drama.

From Tom Perrotta

Tom Perrotta

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