Ginia Bellafante of the New York Times weighed in on MOTHERLAND in this week’s “Big City” column. I am extremely grateful to be covered on the front page of the Metropolitan section and am a faithful reader of Ginia’s column. I read this one three times, trying to glean her thesis. She seemed conflicted. I think her point was: “In these books people have adultery but only with neighbors. That is new and that is depressing.” I would like to say that the people in my novel who have affairs do it with very exciting people who are not their neighbors. One does it with ex-neighbor who has moved to Manhattan.

I would also like to say that even if people do sleep with their neighbors, that is not a new thing. People have been sleeping with their neighbors for a very long time. I think there is a scene about this in Mel Brooks’ History of the World. I think Rick Moody also wrote about it more recently.

P.S. Can anyone name the location of the photograph? I can and it ain’t the Slo.