“I shy away from plot structure that depends on the characters behaving...” — Rachel Kushner Quote

“I shy away from plot structure that depends on the characters behaving in ways that are going to eventually be explained by their childhood, or by some recent trauma or event. People are incredibly complicated. Who knows why they are the way they are?”

“I don't think a woman riding a motorcycle thinks of herself as doing something that has sex appeal. I think she's trying to replicate for herself an experience that she sees men having.”

“Artists are political in the sense that they've subtracted themselves from the structure of the marketplace and are contributing something that's not utilitarian. Even though books get sold, and I get advances, I get to look at society and think for a living.”

“After a while, the characters I'm writing begin to feel real to me. That's when I know I'm heading in the right direction.”

“I put a lot of myself into my characters when I write.”

“Well, it's probably not something I'm conscious of, but I do gravitate towards characters that are kind of like me.”