I don't believe complete assimilation is possible, at least not for anyone who has an active, open mind. Every step, every entry into the flows of existence can be seen as a beginning, a commencement of a brand new way… — Chang-Rae Lee Copy Share Image
I wanted to write about the Korean War, but I had no entry into it that made the kind of sense it needs to make for a novelist. — Chang-Rae Lee Copy Share Image
I think my parents recognised that I'd always wanted to be a writer, and so they didn't think that this was some idle, faddish… — Chang-Rae Lee Copy Share
Some writers are writing one great, big book and just taking all these different avenues towards it. They might seem on the outside to… — Chang-Rae Lee Copy Share
I try to be aware of what I'm concerned about, aware of how I feel about myself in the world, aware of how I… — Chang-Rae Lee Copy Share
“I would give most anything to hear my father's talk again, the crash and bang and stop of his language, always hurtling by. I… — Chang-rae Lee Copy Share
We have hopes and make plans, and if they are dashed or waylaid, we naturally rationalize and redraw the map to locate ourselves anew.… — Chang-Rae Lee Copy Share
I remember when I was in art classes, I hated following the assignments. And I would get in trouble for doing something totally different… — Chang-Rae Lee Copy Share
The past, as you suggest, is absolutely present at all times and the present is born from the past. I wouldn't want to suggest… — Chang-Rae Lee Copy Share
Not to any really influential effect, but certainly there have been comments that have surprised me. It's surprising sometimes to get particular perspectives on… — Chang-Rae Lee Copy Share
My family immigrated when I was 3, and our predecessors inhabited the Korean Peninsula for as long as can be recalled. — Chang-Rae Lee Copy Share
After college, I was living in New York and wrote furiously, a huge novel that I knew was a failure. I hoped that the… — Chang-Rae Lee Copy Share
Usually, when you're talking about work with other writers it's because something seriously bad is going on with your work and you've absolutely thrown… — Chang-Rae Lee Copy Share
I had a visceral connection to the period [of Korean War]. By visceral I suppose I mean emotional. But every fiction requires so much… — Chang-Rae Lee Copy Share
