Of course, I grew up hearing Latin music but, to be honest, aside from my personal circumstances, like most kids I wanted to rebel against what I considered to be such old fashioned fare. Oscar Hijuelos circumstanceconsiderfare Change image and share on social
It's true that immigrant novels have to do with people going from one country to another, but there isn't a single novel that doesn't travel from one place to another, emotionally or locally. Oscar Hijuelos countryemotionallyimmigrant Change image and share on social
If you start believing all that press about you, you're in trouble. I don't even read my reviews. Oscar Hijuelos believepressread Change image and share on social
Music infuses your spirit with a certain energy that I try to convey in my work. Oscar Hijuelos conveyenergyinfuse Change image and share on social
Nightclubs are the equivalent of a Catholic Church in a poor country. You hear a lot of stuff about churches filled with gold while the people are starving. But what elitists don't get is that for poor people, the church is their own mansion. Nightclubs fill the same function. Oscar Hijuelos catholicchurchcountry share on social
When you write fiction, you can sort of invent more but also pack it with emotions that are very pertinent to you. Whereas with nonfiction, you have to be as factual as possible but also hopefully - also bring... emotional relevance to the piece. Oscar Hijuelos bringemotionemotional share on social
I like to encourage young talented writers to try and help them get published and so forth, but that's all. That's the best I can do. Oscar Hijuelos encouragepublishtalented Change image and share on social
I teach at Duke, and I have students who are all of twenty who want to write memoirs, and you know it's all pretty interesting stuff, but a lot of them lack gravitas, you know. Oscar Hijuelos dukegravitainterest Change image and share on social
When you're writing a novel - at least the way I write is I work from what I would call 'emotional atmosphere,' ambiance to ambiance. Oscar Hijuelos ambianceatmospherecall Change image and share on social
As a kid I had all kinds of questions about how I fit it with my neighborhood and friends and other Latinos. Oscar Hijuelos fitfriendkid Change image and share on social
