McEwan Does A Garbo

"I feel a period of obscurity would be very good for me...It certainly isn't pleasant. The world sort of shrinks, but it doesn't last for long. It's that restlessness of the press which on the one hand can be bewildering, but is also the thing that saves you because the monster needs to be fed. It will spew you out having chomped on you a bit."

- From a Reuters interview