The purpose of fiction is not to make people seem nice. What makes anyone think people are nice? Look around you! Elizabeth Strout fictionmakenice Change image and share on social
My first job was when I was about 12, cleaning houses in the afternoons for different elderly women in town. I hated it. Elizabeth Strout afternooncleanelderly Change image and share on social
I don't ever really know where I get my characters from. Elizabeth Strout character Change image and share on social
As a novelist, I like the contained drama and complexity of the courtroom, though I don't watch those shows on TV. I prefer the hospital shows because I wanted to be a doctor. Elizabeth Strout complexitycontaincourtroom Change image and share on social
I love theater. I love sitting in an audience and having the actors right there, playing out what it means to be a human being. Elizabeth Strout actoraudiencehuman Change image and share on social
I don't think of myself as a fast reader. I just read a lot. When someone else might think, 'I might do the dishes,' I don't. But then the dishes multiply. Elizabeth Strout dishfastlot Change image and share on social
I sometimes miss the sense of excitement that I remember having when I was younger. I miss that sense of, 'Oh wow.' I think it's part of aging. Elizabeth Strout agingexcitementmis Change image and share on social
I don't think there's anybody I write about who I don't care for deeply in some way, no matter what their behavior is. Elizabeth Strout behaviorcaredeeply Change image and share on social
I don't know if I have a memory of not thinking I was a writer - it goes that far back. I went to law school because I didn't know how to earn a living otherwise. I tried to ignore the pull, but it wouldn't let me. Elizabeth Strout backearnignore share on social
I'm drawn to New England because that's where my roots are, and I miss it. I come from many generations of New Englanders, and so, in my writing, I've been drawn back there to the landscape and the light and the type of personality that's revealed. Elizabeth Strout backdrawengland share on social
