Mohsin Hamid

Empathy is about finding echoes of another person in yourself.

If your sense of self is destabilised, to imagine being another becomes pretty easy.

Growing up in Pakistan in the 1980s, I lived in the shadow of a tyrannical state.

I've learned that even the word 'jubilee' used in connection with the Reformation can give rise to discussions.

It took me realizing that a broken heart has never actually killed anyone to find the courage to ask for what I want, in just about every situation. That was part of my own growing up.

What people don't understand about Sarah Palin is that she is a rancher's wife. From Alberta down to Texas I've known women like that: good common sense, bright and vilified by city people.