People want to get back to the source. The old school. They want things they can touch.

I like moral judgment to emerge from the reader. We are being sold a very simplistic morality by our leaders at a time when nuance and understanding are at a premium.

When I try to understand somebody, create a character, I fall into them. When I think writers are telling me what to think, I get harrumphy.

There's nothing New York likes more than a thing. Or a place. Or a place that's a thing. Or a thing that happens to be a place.

I'm fascinated by the emergence of a global class. They're highly mobile; they reject the idea of place.

There's an explosion of Indian fiction of all kinds, from military thrillers to chicklit. I think that's exciting.