Quote

Writing a novel is one of those modern rites of passage, I think, that lead us from an innocent world of contentment, drunkenness, and good humor, to a state of chronic edginess and the perpetual scanning of bank statements.

I wouldn't call myself a 'literary critic,' just a book reviewer.

Nothing good gets written without the writer suffering along the way, in my opinion. Writing should be a pleasure, but unless you feel almost broken many, many times in the journey to a novel, you haven't pushed yourself hard enough.

Any good writer is going to be well-received and is going to not be well-received; that's how you know you're a great writer.

Be kind and considerate with your criticism... It's just as hard to write a bad book as it is to write a good book.

Good writers are monotonous, like good composers. They keep trying to perfect the one problem they were born to understand.

Some writers take to drink, others take to audiences.

A bad book is as much of a labor to write as a good one, it comes as sincerely from the author's soul.

A literary critic is someone who can't write, but who loves to show he would have been a wonderful writer if only he could!

Nowadays I'm not even sure if newspapers take into account whether a person is a good writer.