Jennifer Egan : (9)

" After 9/11, the U.S. seemed vulnerable for the first time in a long time. We were no longer the superpower that no other country could touch. I thought, ‘When and how did that dominance begin?’ " - Jennifer Egan

" For me, New York is about anonymity; that’s the draw. It’s not at all about other people in my business being nearby. It’s that I can get on the subway and eavesdrop on conversations that I would never have access to otherwise. That’s why I stay. That’s why I could never leave. " - Jennifer Egan

" Technology makes everyone feel old. A laptop is old after two years. Someone always has something newer. Everyone seems to feel obsolete now, even the young. " - Jennifer Egan

" I’m not sure if the passage of time affects our core identities so much as reveals them to us. " - Jennifer Egan

" Not to brag, but I do think I’ve gotten pretty adept on PowerPoint… except that I can’t figure out how to use Excel! " - Jennifer Egan

" When I pick up a book that’s, you know, wreathed in laurels, I expect a lot, and that doesn’t give the book its best chance to shine. " - Jennifer Egan

" I’m not reading what I write when I wrote. It’s an unconscious outpouring that’s a mess, and it’s many, many steps away from anything anyone would want to read. Creating that way seems to generate the most interesting material for me to work with, though. " - Jennifer Egan

" I did go on safari in Kenya when I was 17, with my mother, stepfather and little brother, and I kept a careful journal of the experience that was very helpful in terms of my sensory impressions of Africa. I have traveled quite a bit at distinct times in my life, though now that I have kids I’ve settled down. " - Jennifer Egan

" The book that is the closest genetically to ‘Goon Squad’ is ‘Look at Me.’ It has the futuristic element – although, freakishly, almost every aspect I invented has come to pass in some way, including the terrorist who fantasies about blowing up the World Trade Centre. That was extremely uncomfortable. The book came out on the week of 9/11. " - Jennifer Egan