I wrote The Same Sea not as a political allegory about Israelis and Palestinians. I wrote it about something much more gutsy and immediate. I wrote it as a piece of chamber music.

Every single pleasure I can imagine or have experienced is more delightful, more of a pleasure, if you take it in small sips, if you take your time. Reading is not an exception.

Fundamentalist s live life with an exclamation point. I prefer to live my life with a question mark.

Writing a poem is like having an affair, a one-night stand; a short story is a romance, a relationship; a novel is a marriage-one has to be cunning, devise compromises, and make sacrifices.

Words create conceptions and self-conceptions and ultimately nations. They can start and stop wars. They can would and heal. Choosing words carefully is a moral responsibility.

A conflict begins and ends in the hearts and minds of people, not in the hilltops.

All of my novels are democracies.

The only way to keep a dream, any dream at all, to keep a dream perfect and rosy and intact and unsullied is never to live it out.

The opposite of compromise is not integrity. The opposite of compromise is not idealism. The opposite of compromise is fanaticism and death.

Now, Israel is a fulfillment, and as a fulfillment, it is flawed. The fact that it is flawed is not so much a testimony about the failures of Israel. No, it is a testimony about the nature of dreams.

One of the things I wanted to introduce in The Same Sea beyond transcending the conflict, is the fact that deep down below all our secrets are the same.

Define yourself radically as one beloved by God. This is the true self. Every other identity is illusion.

If you drink much from a bottle marked 'poison' it is certain to disagree with you sooner or later.

A piece of information can change a person. I'd hate to change the way I'm supposed to live the future.

I don't think it matters how many parents you've got, as long as those who are around make their presence a good one.

unrequited love is the most selfless love.

We meet a lot of people, we drink lots of stuff and have lots of fun

Only lovers know the value and magnanimity of truth.

You know, I come from six generations of college graduates.

Jesus understands our weaknesses and sins; and he forgives us if we allow ourselves to be forgiven.