“I know, but he must have felt it that way, that evil was an emptiness, a lack of something, not a presence.'He turned his head fast and looked at me. 'That's what desire is, isn't it? The lack of something.”

American novelist and essayist, Siri Hustvedt is known for her introspective fiction blending art, psychology, and memory. Her work often explores the intersections of gender, perception, and the human mind, with novels like *The Blindfold* and *The Summer Without Men* earning critical acclaim.