For some reason, I spent my early thirties reading as much postwar Hungarian fiction as I could get my hands on.

I fell in love with New York at some indeterminate point in my early years.

There was nothing New York liked reading about more than itself.

If I could do what Hilary Mantel does, I would probably do that. She is more intelligent and a better researcher and knows more what she's about than I do.

Sure, 'Les Miserables' can be melodramatic. And seeing the musical instead of reading the novel will save you some time and spare you the long part where Hugo goes on and on about the Parisian sewer system. But I would hate for the novel to lose that.

Reading it was like subletting a small apartment in someone else's head.