I was pretty aimless as a youth, especially in Patna. I think reading saved me.

My past makes me an insider, but my profession makes me an outsider. A writer always stands outside to report on reality.

What is the difference between the novelist and the liar? At some moments, I have often wondered.

I have always kept notes and have kept letters from my friends and mother, which is rather depressing, as it takes you to the past.

When I occasionally indulge in sort of a 'look back' at highlights, it's so interesting - it almost never comes from an image on a set or even the Academy Awards. It's almost always a family trip or meeting and falling in love with Cheryl.

Sometimes in a large family, you get taken to a movie and there just isn't enough space or not enough tickets and you get left out. Those are the movies you remember because you never got to see them!

If you want to spend weekends with your family, something's got to give.

I was born in New York City on a cold January night when the water pipes in our apartment froze and burst. Fortunately, my mother was in the hospital rather than at home at the time.