'Sometimes, when I am in a period of great anxiety, I fantasise about running away. I am alone and anonymous in a European city like Venice. The distance from every-thing I know, and the solitude, seem luxurious, spacious, calming. What am I running away from? Or what, specifically, am I seeking? I've had this fantasy for a long time. For as long as I've had intimate .relationships, and wanted to be incredibly close to another person. For as long as I've been seriously writing. For as long as I've been seeking the space, and time, to develop and explore my own imagination. This whole time, like most writers, I have worked, studied, juggled opportunities and obligations. That is life; that is what we do.' (Introduction)