I have lived for a long time inside a series of coincidences that most people would find implausible in a novel.

- Alexander Chee

The way some were entrapped into lives of prostitution, the way that something like marriage could rob them of their rights.

- Alexander Chee

I've been told it's hard to write about singing. I didn't realize that going into it. I might not have tried if I knew!

- Alexander Chee

PhD, MFA, self-taught - the only things you must have to become a writer are the stamina to continue and a wily, cagey heart in the face of extremity…

- Alexander Chee

Every now and then, you find a book that feels like it was keyed to your DNA.

- Alexander Chee

As I get ready to buy a new computer, I'm stunned at all the many micro drafts, of different chapters and scenes and whatnot, that litter the hard dr…

- Alexander Chee

Characters to me are like sonnets, they have limits that you obey which allow a force to enter in, an invention that makes the novel possible. Change…

- Alexander Chee

Whenever people say a coincidence in a novel is implausible, I think, Do I have a story for you.

- Alexander Chee

One of my big inspirations was Céleste Mogador. She was a courtesan who wrote her memoirs in order to pay off her debts, which is a hilarious gesture.

- Alexander Chee