Still, when it comes to the state of the novel, to the future of the novel, I feel rather optimistic. Numbers don't count where books are concerned, for there is only one reader, each and every time only one reader. That explains the particular power of the novel and why, in my opinion, it will never die as a form. Every novel is an equal collaboration between the writer and the reader and it is the only place in the world where two strangers can meet on terms of absolute intimacy.
- Paul Auster, writing about what he does in the Guardian, originally delivered as his acceptance speech for the Prince of Asturias Prize for Letters, Spain's premier literary honour, which he received last month.
