Laila Lalami Quotes
Immigration, a lexicon. You're a 'migrant' when you're very poor; 'immigrant' when you're not so poor; and 'expat' when you're rich.
Historical novels, in particular, allow us to relive the past without the neatness of history, and with all the complexity of the present.
In some ways, I think it's the closest that we come to the truth — is in the form of fiction.
The universe had an odd sense of fairness; it took away things one did not want to give up, and then gave things one did not ask for.
A name is precious; it carries inside it a language, a history, a set of traditions, a particular way of looking at the world. Losing it meant losing my ties to all those things too.
Thing that was very different for me is that an American child's reading is filled with Americans.
No one wrote better about the sin of pride, the corruption of power and the redemption of love. I will miss you, Gabriel García Márquez.
There are writers I return to no matter what I'm working on, writers like the South African J.M. Coetzee. He has an ability to make you feel that he is writing for you alone.
There is a insularity within American fiction even for adults. It's very tough for books in translation in the US.
I love James Baldwin essays, but also his novels. I recently read "Another Country." I couldn't believe how ahead of his time he was.
Unfounded gossip can turn into sanctioned history if falls into the hands of the right storyteller.