Just the act of sleeping beside someone you liked to be with. Maybe that was love.

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.

You have to see the good in yourself before expecting someone else to see the good in you. Be aware of who you are and what you can truly be.

Always put your heart into and show commitment in whatever you do

Globalization doesn't have to be a bad thing as long as government provides us all with the tools to cope in a changing world.

Without a plan, there's no attack. Without attack, no victory.

Of the smells, bread; of the tastes, salt.

I do look forward to doing things in the future that I havent done before. Do you know what I have always dreamt about? Playing a serial killer!

the 10,000hr rule is a definite key in success

An ugly baby is a very nasty object - and the prettiest is frightful.

So, yes, we do celebrate America today because the majority will stand up and empower the American people to live that American Dream and to be part of making a better, freer, and safer world.

Man, I have had so much plastic surgery, I don't even recognize myself, sometimes. If I catch a glimpse in a window or something, I think it is someone else.