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? Rachel Kushner behavecharacterchildhood share on social
Happiness is a mysterious concept. It seems to work best as futurity: at that point I will be happy, et cetera. I feel like I experience small pieces of joy day to day. Rachel Kushner ceteraconceptday Change image and share on social
Writing does produce a very unique satisfaction. There are times when I'm writing that it's frustrating or appalling or difficult, but when it goes well, it goes really well, and there is a feeling of rightness, like I'm doing the thing I was meant to do, almost in a mystical way, like I'm at an appropriate angle to the world. Rachel Kushner angleappalldifficult share on social
I love the novels of Didion and Bret Ellis and consider them L.A. writers because they write about L.A. Rachel Kushner bretdidionelli Change image and share on social
I'm drawn in some strangely natural way to immersing myself in a milieu whose rules I don't understand, where there are things you can't access simply by being intelligent or doing well in school. Rachel Kushner accessdrawimmerse Change image and share on social
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. Rachel Kushner appealexperienceman Change image and share on social
The late Seventies was the death of the manufacturing age in the United States. It was also a time when the Pictures Generation artists were getting started. They co-opted the language of advertising. The factory disappeared, and weirdly, so did the art object - it was the age of making gestures, not objects. Rachel Kushner advertiseageart share on social
One is sometimes meant to reassure the reader that she's qualified to write about a certain topic. Rachel Kushner meanqualifyreader Change image and share on social
I'm a very interior person. I love silence. I revel in it. I'm happy that way. Rachel Kushner happyinteriorlove Change image and share on social
Themes only arise after a novel is written, and people begin to try to talk about it. Rachel Kushner arisebeginpeople Change image and share on social