If I have any advantage, maybe, as a writer, it is that I don't think I'm very interesting. I mean, beginning a novel with the last sentence is a pretty plodding way to spend your life. ↗
The book was at a reasonably high position on the New York Times... before I was in the country. I thought it would be an interesting experiment to see if my presence here would push it up or down. ↗
It's just like high school. If you're a freshman or a sophomore, it's hard to tell the seniors who've been through two, three, playoff games what to do. ↗