I'm not sure that it's possible to write a novel about people who don't transgress or stumble, people who don't surprise themselves with the things they do, people who can explain all their actions with perfect logical consistency. At least it's not possible for me to write that sort of novel.
Interpretation
This quote expresses the idea that human characters in stories must be flawed and unpredictable to be relatable and engaging.
Tom Perrotta emphasizes the necessity of imperfection and unpredictability in character development within literature. He suggests that writing about individuals who consistently make rational choices without errors or surprises is not only unrealistic but also dull, as true human experiences are often fraught with contradictions and spontaneous decisions. This reflects the complexity of human nature, where people often act against their logical reasoning, and such intricacies are what make narratives compelling.
In practice
In a literary class discussing character development, one could use this quote to illustrate the importance of conflict and flaws in storytelling.
Meg was going to have to learn for herself what Laurie had figured out over the summer - that it was better to leave well enough alone, to avoid unnecessary encounters with the people you'd left behind, to not keep poking at that sore tooth with the tip of your tongue. Not because you didn't love them anymore, but because you did, and because that love was useless now, just another dull ache in your phantom limb.
I always felt a little worm inside me: 'Now you need to write a novel with a woman protagonist.'
I am not going to get into it myself, except to say (1) if I am writing "boy fiction," who are all those boys with breasts who keep turning up by the hundreds at my signings and readings? and (2) thank you, geek girls! I love you all.
I think that what's unique about sci-fi - at least from the view of a lot of Chinese writers - is that sci-fi is least-rooted in the particular culture that they're writing from.
There are now 30-year-old Mexican writers who do great novels in which Mexico isn't even mentioned.
I love it when novels contain a broad cast of characters, including queer ones.
I can think of no other writer who so thoroughly embodies the Jamesian spirit as Alison Lurie. Like him she can excavate all the possibilities of a theme. Like his, her books seem long, unbroken threads, seamless progressions of effects.
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