“I like the idea of isolation, I like the idea of solitude. You can be ...” — Paul Theroux Quote

“I like the idea of isolation, I like the idea of solitude. You can be connected and have a phone and still be lonely.”

“Writing is pretty crummy on the nerves.”

“Africa is really a place for the wealthy traveler. It's got some nice hotels, but they're very expensive hotels. It doesn't really cater to the backpacker or to the overland traveler.”

“When I was 13, I started posting songs every week that I'd written. They weren't fantastic, but people connected to them in some way. And that's the only way that I grow my audience as a writer.”

“As an Indian, you feel easily connected with certain histories in places like Indonesia, where one sees, because of the presence of the Hindu-Buddhist past, Hindus still living there or Muslims performing rituals that are instantly familiar.”

“I'm really connected to people, and my relationships with people are paramount, so I write about relationships, particularly strong female ones. In my family, there were six girls born in five years. We were best friends. And my parents raised all of us as first-class citizens.”