On his website, he says
As a passionate believer in the democracy of reading, I don’t think it’s the task of the author of a book to tell the reader what it means.
The meaning of a story emerges in the meeting between the words on the page and the thoughts in the reader’s mind. So when people ask me what I meant by this story, or what was the message I was trying to convey in that one, I have to explain that I’m not going to explain.
Anyway, I’m not in the message business; I’m in the “Once upon a time” business.
Speaking of which, he also said
We don’t need lists of rights and wrongs, tables of do’s and don’ts: we need books, time, and silence. Thou shalt not is soon forgotten, but ‘Once upon a time’ lasts forever.
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