A downside to being a successful novelist? Wow - I can't imagine one. Andrew Sean Greer More Quotes by Andrew Sean Greer More Quotes From Andrew Sean Greer Here was a thing that would grow old; here was a thing that would turn beautiful and lose that beauty, that would inherit the grace but also the bad ear and flawed figure of her mother, that would smile too much and squint too often and spend the last decades of her life creaming away the wrinkles made in youth until she finally gave up and wore a collar of pears to hide a wattle; here was the ordinary sadness of the world. Andrew Sean Greer sadness mother beautiful Some books inspire one to read, and some inspire one to write; for selfish reasons, I'm always looking for the latter. Andrew Sean Greer looking always selfish inspire Human love and desire is my bag. Andrew Sean Greer bag human desire love To say 'A High Wind in Jamaica' is a novel about children who are abducted by pirates is to make it seem like a children's book. But that's completely wrong; its theme is actually how heartless children are. Andrew Sean Greer say wind book children There's a certain point in chemistry and in calculus where I reached the end of my abilities, and I realized, 'This is where I'm stupid.' Andrew Sean Greer point end chemistry stupid During every book, I have a nervous breakdown. Usually it's about two thirds of the way through the book - I'm just comatose on the couch for at least a week, and I eventually break through it and have an answer about how to fix the thing. Andrew Sean Greer answer week book way You can look at my books and not find particular joy on every page because, of course, what you want to write about is the difficulty of the human experience. You don't want to lie about things to make happy endings and weddings if they don't deserve to happen. But I would be lying if I didn't try to communicate some of the pleasure of being alive. Andrew Sean Greer look you experience happy Usually on Sundays, I won't cook because I'll have dinner at my mom's. She's the provost of Mills College in Oakland and lives on campus. It's a very beautiful school in a very bad part of town. Andrew Sean Greer dinner mom beautiful school A lot of problems get solved in those sort of in-between moments when your subconscious has been working on some problem. If you keep it spinning, you can fix ideas sometimes better than if you focus on them directly. Andrew Sean Greer problems you focus sometimes I was raised Unitarian, and my mother said she took us to church so that we wouldn't get religious later in life. Andrew Sean Greer she church mother life You write three pages over six hours, and you don't feel like you've gotten anywhere, but if you've done a beautiful metaphor or a lovely sentence, or you finally got to some moment you wanted, then that's worth it. Then you can close your computer and get a little relief. Andrew Sean Greer feel moment you beautiful I do think that Americans do not understand that things are done differently in other parts of the world and that the other ways people do things are equally accurate ways to do things. Someone else just came up with something different. Andrew Sean Greer understand think people world I don't read literary blogs. I used to read them, but it was upsetting when they would talk, in a snarky way, about my friends. Andrew Sean Greer about talk friends way I wake up at 10. I have coffee, and then I spend a half an hour on the computer, where I read newspapers and progressive blogs. I have to tear myself away, or I'll spend all day reading. Andrew Sean Greer day myself wake-up coffee Travel is hard, and it's mostly not your fault. Andrew Sean Greer fault your hard travel I grew up in the suburbs, which I don't think shaped me very much. Andrew Sean Greer which think up me I think what shaped me was I had two parents who were scientists, and especially, they were great readers. They had both grown up in sort of rural parts of the South and were oddballs where they grew up. They were budding intellectuals. Andrew Sean Greer parents great think me Both my parents were atheists, and my grandmother was an atheist in rural Kentucky, and so they were trying to make sure that my brother and I would be atheists, too, and it worked, which doesn't mean that they didn't teach us a lot of wonder of science and of nature and the world and all of that. Andrew Sean Greer parents nature brother science I think it would be bad to a truly successful celebrity person, because I know these novelists where people get a cult following, and they have some strange personal attachment to them because it's so personal to read a book. Andrew Sean Greer bad think book people Can you call and thank reviewers? I always wondered that. Andrew Sean Greer thank call you always
