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Meg Waite Clayton

Author of the international bestsellers The Postmistress of Paris, The Last Train to London, and 6 other novels

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May 23, 2018 By Meg Waite Clayton

5 Quotes from Philip Roth on Reading, Writing, and Life

I was saddened to hear the news last night that Philip Roth has died. Here are a few of the wisdoms I learned from reading his books:

On reading:

“Everybody else is working to change, persuade, tempt and control them. The best readers come to fiction to be free of all that noise.” – from Conversations with Philip Roth

On Writing:

“The road to hell is paved with works-in-progress.” – from “Works in Progress” in The New York Times Book Review, July 15, 1979
‘I don’t ask writers about their work habits. I really don’t care. Joyce Carol Oates says somewhere that when writers ask each other what time they start working and when they finish and how much time they take for lunch, they’re actually trying to find out, “Is he as crazy as I am?” I don’t need that question answered.’ – from Writers at Work: The Paris Review Interviews,

On Life:

“The only obsession everyone wants: ‘love.’ People think that in falling in love they make themselves whole? The Platonic union of souls? I think otherwise. I think you’re whole before you begin. And the love fractures you. You’re whole, and then you’re cracked open.” – from The Dying Animal
“Life is just a short period of time in which you are alive.” – from American Pastoral
Roth didn’t believe in God, but no doubt he has achieved some sort of immortality through his writing. – Meg
 

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Meg Waite Clayton


Meg Waite Clayton is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of eight novels, including the Good Morning America Buzz pick and New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice THE POSTMISTRESS OF PARIS, the National Jewish Book Award finalist THE LAST TRAIN TO LONDON, the Langum-Prize honored THE RACE FOR PARIS, and THE WEDNESDAY SISTERS, one of Entertainment Weekly’s 25 Essential Best Friend Novels of all time. Her novels have been published in 23 languages. She has also written more than 100 pieces for major newspapers, magazines, and public radio, mentors in the OpEd Project, and is a member of the National Book Critics Circle and the California bar. megwaiteclayton.com

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