Lionel Shriver

it looks as if this whole family is going to disappear, right?

None of them have had kids and therefore there will be no one left in the house.

Niko, who doesn't take any of this stuff very seriously, said, yeah, okay, well, let me have the house for 70 years and I'll leave you the keys.

And it's, but, but, you know, that's, that's also, that's the country.

The house is the country.

And if we don't have children, then we're handing the keys to somebody else.

That's right.

And by the way, I need to clarify, I have not had children.

So I'm a hypocrite.

I had my... In fact, I'm the only non-hypocrite at the table.

Good for you.

Good for me.

I came around to my pro-natalism late in my life.

And in all honesty, I still don't feel specifically regretful on my own account.

My life worked out pretty much the way I wanted.

There is some parallel universe in my mind in which I had children.

And I think in a lot of ways, the latter part of my life would be much more interesting.

if I'd had children.

And that's where it really gets me.

Because there'd be so much more plot.