“But when I say it isn't meant for anyone's eyes, I don't mean it in the sense of one of those novel manuscripts people keep in a drawer, insisting they don't care if anyone else ever reads it or not.The people I have known who do that, I am convinced, have no faith in themselves as writers and know, deep down, that the novel is flawed, that they don't know how to tell the story, or they don't understand what the story is, or they haven't really got a story to tell. The manuscript in the drawer is the story.”

“You like to tell true stories, don't you?' he asked, and I answered, 'Yes, I like to tell stories that are true.'Then he asked, 'After you have finished your true stories sometime, why don't you make up a story and the people to go with it?Only then will you understand what happened and why.It is those we live with and love and should know who elude us.”

“This story is not and never was meant to challenge anyone's faith; however, if one's faith can be shaken by stories in a humorous novel, one may have a bit more praying to do.”

“I never have people tell me their stories. I usually have to figure them out myself. Because I know that if people tell me stories, they will expect them to be remembered. And I cannot guarantee that. There is no way to know if the stories stay after I'm gone. And how devastating would it be to confide in someone and have the confidence disappear? I don't want to be responsible for that.”

“I don't know whether my nation will perish and I don't know which of my characters is right. I invent stories, confront one with another, and by this means i ask questions. The stupidity of people comes from having an answer for everything. The wisdom of the novel comes from having a question for everything.”

“All of these lines across my faceTell you the story of who I amSo many stories of where I've beenAnd how I got to where I amBut these stories don't mean anythingWhen you've got no one to tell them toIt's true, I was made for youI climbed across the mountaintopsTravel across the ocean blueI cross over lines and I broke all the rulesAnd baby I broke them all for youOh because even when I was flat brokeYou made me feel like a million bucksYou do, I was made for youYou see the smile that's on my mouthIt's hiding the words that don't come outAll of the friends who think that I'm blessedThey don't know my head's a messNo they don't know who I really amAnd they don't know what I've been throughLike you do, and I was made for youAll of these lines across my faceTell you the story of who I amSo many stories of where I've beenAnd how I got to where I amOh but these stories don't mean anythingWhen you've got no one to tell them toIt's true, I was made for youOh yeah, and it's true that I was made for you”