In The Interestings I wanted to write about what happens to talent over time. In some people talent blooms, in others it falls away.

Being a teacher at a restaurant in the town where you lived was a little like being a TV star.

While it's true that some writers, when taking on love and war, find the task too big, or only succeed in one but not the other, Mengestu tracks both themes with authority and feeling.

Good writing is good writing, and I'm so happy when I read it.

You had only one chance for a signature in life, but most people left no impression.

The child who was happy with herself meant the parents had won the jackpot.

For me, a novel relying too heavily on a single idea might be a dry, deadly thing unless it possesses an animating force.

People like to warn you that by the time you reach the middle of your life, passion will begin to feel like a meal eaten long ago, which you remember with great tenderness.

After a certain age, you felt a need not to be alone. It grew stronger, like a radio frequency, until finally it was so powerful that you were forced to do something about it.

Wasn't the whole point of being an artist, or at least part of it, that you didn't have to wear a tie?

The generation that had information, but no context. Butter, but no bread. Craving, but no longing.

When a thing becomes indispensable it's time to give it up.

... the love which Kahu received from Koro Apirana was the sort that dropped off the edge of the table, like breadcrumbs after everybody else has had a big meal.

Imperfection doesn’t disqualify you from helping others -- it makes you more qualified to give advice in the area you learned from.

Those eyes, they were my own kind of madness

I have wrought great use out of evil tools.

Donald Trump is a guy that's gets stuff done. If he says he's gonna do something, he does it. He doesn't worry about it. He's got thick skin. He's gonna do it. He's gonna bring jobs back.

True allegiance is only given willingly.

As an actor, it's more interesting to play a nerd than anything else. It's a lot more fun - you don't worry about 'what's my hair like?' in the morning or 'which is my great angle?

Science is concerned about quantity; religion is concerned about quality. Religion is concerned with the art of how to live life and how to die life.

When a man says he had pleasure with a woman he does not mean conversation.