If you're writing a thriller, and you don't make it compelling, then you've really not done your job. So it's easier for me not to set out with certain goals, and then I can't see them as unmet. It's like life generally: If I'm not aiming to be physically fit, then I'm not always thinking about being unfit.

I've never been very practical or realistic - I've always felt that if a project seems easy, or even attainable, why pursue it?

The way I saw the world as a child was not wrong. And it's okay to see the world that way. If it doesn't hurt anybody.

Claire Messud Quotes