{"author":"Tom Perrotta","author_id":"Tom+Perrotta","total_quotes":21,"quotes":[{"text":"I would probably have to say that reading fiction — those stories fill the space that other people might use religious stories for. The bulk of what I know about human life I’ve gotten from novels. And I think the thing about novels that make them important to the people who love them is that there’s always another perspective.","author":"Tom Perrotta","tags":["fiction","life","reading","tom-perrotta"],"id":1291,"author_id":"Tom+Perrotta"},{"text":"They both seemed to understand that describing it was beyond their powers, the gratitude that spreads through your body when a burden gets lifted, and the sense of homecoming that follows, when you suddenly remember what it feels like to be yourself.","author":"Tom Perrotta","tags":["burden","gratitude","homecoming","yourself"],"id":13848,"author_id":"Tom+Perrotta"},{"text":"Apparently even the most awful tragedies, and the people they'd ruined, got a little stale after a while.","author":"Tom Perrotta","tags":["death","life","news","tragedy"],"id":18039,"author_id":"Tom+Perrotta"},{"text":"When I was writing 'The Abstinence Teacher,' I really tried to immerse myself in contemporary American evangelical culture.","author":"Tom Perrotta","tags":["culture","myself","writing "],"id":18314,"author_id":"Tom+Perrotta"},{"text":"It’s a matter of dignity,” the Chief explained. “At a certain point, that’s all you have left.","author":"Tom Perrotta","tags":["dignity","left","point"],"id":36332,"author_id":"Tom+Perrotta"},{"text":"I don't really distinguish between sympathy and honesty when I'm writing. The two go together - I'm interested in inhabiting my characters, seeing the world through their eyes.","author":"Tom Perrotta","tags":["eyes","honesty","together "],"id":87872,"author_id":"Tom+Perrotta"},{"text":"Quite a metaphor. The person in the most pain wins. Does that mean I get a Blue Ribbon?","author":"Tom Perrotta","tags":["sadness"],"id":107367,"author_id":"Tom+Perrotta"},{"text":"I’m only human, she told herself. There’s not enough room in my heart for everyone.","author":"Tom Perrotta","tags":["everyone","heart","human"],"id":122423,"author_id":"Tom+Perrotta"},{"text":"I’ve matured. I have a much higher tolerance for boredom.","author":"Tom Perrotta","tags":["boredom","matured","tolerance"],"id":133438,"author_id":"Tom+Perrotta"},{"text":"Within a couple of weeks of starting the Ph.D. Program, though, she discovered that she'd booked passage on a sinking ship. There aren't any jobs, the other students informed her; the profession's glutted with tenured old men who won't step aside for the next generation. While the university's busy exploiting you for cheap labor, you somehow have to produce a boring thesis that no one will read, and find someone willing to publish it as a book. And then, if you're unsually talented and extraordinarily lucky, you just might be able to secure a one-year, nonrenewable appointment teaching remedial composition to football players in Oklahoma. Meanwhile, the Internet's booming, and the kids we gave C pluses to are waltzing out of college and getting rich on stock options while we bust our asses for a pathetic stipend that doesn't even cover the rent.","author":"Tom Perrotta","tags":["disappointment","graduate-school","life"],"id":205180,"author_id":"Tom+Perrotta"}],"pagination":{"page":1,"page_size":10,"total":21,"pages":3,"next":"?page=2\u0026page_size=10"}}