The printing presses of the state treasuries cranked out reams of paper currency- showing wise kinds and blissful martyrs- while bankers wept and peasants starved.

I read very little contemporary anything.

You write a lot of books; you hope you get better.

It takes me three months of research and nine months of work to produce a book. When I start writing, I do two pages a day; if I'm gonna do 320, that's 160 days.

My novels are about the European reality, not about chases. You want chases, get somebody else's books.

The best Paris I know now is in my head.

Whether you like it or not, Paris is the beating heart of Western civilisation. It's where it all began and ended.