I write what I call 'novels of consolation' for people who are bright and sophisticated.

I have a very serious censorship office inside my head; it censors things that I could tell you that you would never forget, and I don't want to be the person to stick that in your brain.

I don't inflict horrors on readers.

You can't make accommodations in crucial situations and be heroic.

Politicians were like talking dogs in a circus: the fact that they existed was uncommonly interesting, but no sane person would actually believe what they said

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

If you can live in Paris, maybe you should.