I think I’ve always been somebody, since the deaths of my father and brother, who was afraid to hope. So, I was more prepared for failure and for rejection than for success.

Can I tell my daughter that I loved her father? This was the man who rubbed my feet at night. He praised the food that I cooked. He cried honestly when I brought out trinkets...

After all, Bao Bomu says, what is the past but what we choose to remember?

I saw my mother in a different light. We all need to do that. You have to be displaced from what’s comfortable and routine, and then you get to see things with fresh eyes, with...

My writing often contains souvenirs of the day – a song I heard, a bird I saw – which I then put into the novel.

Isn’t hate merely the result of wounded love?

What happened to Violet was terrible, and I’m not saying fate happens without blame. But when fate turns out well, everyone should forget the bad road that got us here.

It’s a luxury being a writer, because all you ever think about is life.

I did not lose myself all at once. I rubbed out my face over the years washing away my pain, the same way carvings on stone are worn down by water.

Entonces debes enseñarle esta misma lección a mi hija. Cómo perder la inocencia pero no la esperanza. Cómo reír eternamente.

Quiero que nuestro amor sea tan grande que nos duela por dentro

I would never require anyone to read any book. That seems antithetical to why we read – which is to choose a book for our personal reasons. I always shudder when I’m told my books...

Kehidupan hanyalah ilusi yang harus kau lepaskan. Ketika makin tua, kau menyadari perubahan posisimu sehubungan dengan kematian. Di masa muda topik kematian adalah filosofis, di usia tiga puluhan topik itu tidak bisa diterima, dan di...