I'm really much better at asking questions than answering them, since asking questions is like a constant deflection of oneself. Christopher Bollen More Quotes by Christopher Bollen More Quotes From Christopher Bollen To this day I still watch tons of horror. Christopher Bollen horror stills watches My parents were great parents, but for some bizarre reason they allowed me to watch whatever I wanted on TV, we had cable. And I constantly watched horror movies. Christopher Bollen tvs parent watches I had been going out to Orient for several years. Christopher Bollen going-out years I've never even done a residency. Christopher Bollen residency done It is a little out of touch to presume that someone wants to follow your every observation and insight over the course of hundreds of pages without any sort of payoff. That's why writing isn't a one-way street. You have to give something back: an interesting plot, a surprise, a laugh, a moment of tenderness, a mystery for the reader to piece together. Christopher Bollen writing giving laughing I have always wanted to be either a cinematographer or a veterinarian. Christopher Bollen cinematographers veterinarian wanted My strength is character. I'm pretty good at building walking-talking humans with brains like beehives. Christopher Bollen brain talking character I feel that I'm solid at description. Christopher Bollen description feels I like the idea of the book being wiser than the person who wrote it. None of the novels I've written are direct transcriptions of me blathering over dinner with a glass of wine in my hand. I don't hold any illusion of those conversations being of particular value. The books, though, are - I hope - bigger than my opinions, investigations that go beyond my own intellect or wit. Christopher Bollen opinion wine book The Greeks really believed in history. They believed that the past had consequences and that you might be punished for the sins of your father. America, and particularly New York, runs on the idea that history doesn't matter. There is no history. There is only the never-ending present. You don't even have your family because you moved here to get away from them, so even that idea of personal history has been cut at the knees. Christopher Bollen cutting running father Someone asked me when it was that I felt confident enough in my writing that I could rely on it as a career. The truth is, I never have. I'm always on the hunt for second, third, or fourth careers. Private detective and cinematographer were previous career choices, but now that I'm older I think I'd be a good portrait painter, rug merchant, or florist. Christopher Bollen choices writing thinking I really believe there is something in the nature of a democracy that naturally leads people to distrust the government, to assume because a democracy is built by people just like themselves that there must be secret plots and cover-ups and wizards behind the scenes running the machine. Christopher Bollen running believe people We've come under the influence of television, where in all honesty we can follow a show that could just get cancelled midway through the season and the entire plotline never resolves itself. Christopher Bollen influence honesty television You sit at a fashion show in another country and you watch all of these paparazzi swarm around a celebrity, only they're a local celebrity, maybe a soap opera star, so you don't have any idea who they are, you just know they're famous to a bunch of stunned Italians. It's weird, because when you can't identify who a celebrity is, they can just look like overslicked stand-ins. That might sound awful, but what I mean is, when you think about most actresses, even in Hollywood, they really aren't that fascinating or glamorous in their own right once you strip away the flashbulbs. Christopher Bollen fashion mean country Going out into the country after living in the city is a loss of control. Christopher Bollen cities loss country I definitely don't take any of intrusions in my private life personally. You learn how to have a sense of humor pretty quickly. I honestly don't keep up on it unless it's something that would hurt someone else. I can take care of myself, that's not the problem. But it's just not fair to bring anyone else into the picture. Christopher Bollen sense-of-humor care hurt I like change. I've never really had much consistency in my life, you know, from everyday work to my living situation to whether or not I'm going to be in L.A. The one constant thing in my life is my friends and family, which is all I need Christopher Bollen consistency family-and-friends everyday It's hard for me to figure out where I want to be. But it's definitely in New York. I feel like New York throws different challenges at you and you can be more creative. Christopher Bollen different creative challenges It's always fun to welcome new people into your life. When dating anyone or becoming friends with anyone who has a different profession, a different life, it opens doors. All my friends here do such different creative things. It's so awesome. Christopher Bollen dating fun people I had lived in New York since 1996, sometimes in the worst neighborhoods, without even locking my door half the time. Christopher Bollen half new-york doors
