If there is more important work than teaching, I hope to learn about it before I die.

My mother's voice and my father's fists are the two book-ends of my childhood, and they form the basis of my art.

A novelist must wrestle with all mysteries and strangeness of life itself, and anyone who does not wish to accept that grand, bone-chilling commission should write book reviews, editorials, or health-insurance policies instead.

on growing up as a child of the
military- "Each year I began my life all over again. I grew up knowing no one well, least of all myself, and I think it damaged me. I grew up not knowing if I was smart or stupid, handsome or ugly, interesting or insipid. I was too busy reacting to the changing landscapes and climates of my life to get any clear picture of myself. I was always leaving behind what I was just about to become. I could never catch up to the boy I might have been if I'd grown up in one place."