“The words 'mainly in America' translated to me as 'this is bollocks' and I sat back in my chair with a sigh.”

“All afternoon in the deck chair, I try to describe to my notebook the colors of the water and sky. How to translate sunlight into words?”

“He switched off the light, came back and sat in the chair. In the darkness, Liesel kept her eyes open. She was watching the words.”

“As I was sitting in my chair,I knew the bottom wasn't there,Nor legs nor back, but I just sat,Ignoring little things like that.”

“I doubt there is even a word in Afghani for peace. Nearest to it is probably a phrase that translates as “just getting my break back and reloading”

“But then it came time for me to make my journey—into America. [... N]o coincidence that my first novel is called Americana. That became my subject, the subject that shaped my work. When I get a French translation of one of my books that says 'translated from the American', I think, 'Yes, that's exactly right.”