Tatyana Tolstaya

I am interested in the subject which is Russia.

If there is a pattern, it will come back - maybe in Russia more than anywhere else, because it has collapsed so many times. Maybe less so here in the States, because here the society is so young.

The best time is always yesterday.

Politics disappears; it vanishes. What remains constant is human life. So I try to develop a perspective in my writing where politics is just one of the pieces of furniture in this furnished world. It is not the purpose. It is not the goal.

People know that I am a very good author. But they would rather read what I have to say about the next election.

I don't want to deal with big, grand themes in my stories; art has nothing to do with themes. When you deal with themes, you are not creating; you are lecturing.

Art has nothing to do with politics. It is the freest thing in the world.

I have enough energy to insist on saying what I think.

I don't think people are fools, and I think they deserve a good attitude and smart entertainment.