People who are in power make their arrangements in secret, largely as a way of maintaining and furthering that power.

Never underestimate the power of the State to act out its own massive fantasies.

In a repressive society, a writer can be deeply influential, but in a society that's filled with glut and repetition and endless consumption, the act of terror may be the only meaningful act.

The writer is the person who stands outside society, independent of affiliation and independent of influence.

In the face of technology, everything becomes a little atavistic.

There's a connection between the advances that are made in technology and the sense of primitive fear people develop in response to it.

I saw a photograph of a wedding conducted by Reverend Moon of the Unification Church. I wanted to understand this event, and the only way to understand it was to write about it.