That's the novelist's job: to peel back the layers and look underneath.

By looking at the sun at different wavelengths, we can peel off the different layers in the (solar) atmosphere, just like peeling an onion.

What fascinates me as a writer is the stuff underneath, To me, what drives a novel is the curiosity behind the character and the depths that you want to find in that character.

This whole thing is like an onion. The more you peel, the more you cry.

As an actor, you are always looking for subtext, for layers, for what's going on underneath.

It is the job of the novelist to touch the reader.