In the same way in which music is made of notes and a painting is made of lines of colors, the matter of literature are words.

A conflict begins and ends in the hearts and minds of people, not in the hilltops.

Let me make it very clear: when I say compromise I do not mean capitulation. When I say compromise I definitely do not mean what Jesus Christ meant when he offered us to turn our other cheek to our enemies. Compromise means, try to meet the other somewhere half-way. And, this can only happen if the other is willing to go half-way in order to meet you. That is the very strict line between compromise and capitulation. I'm a great believer in compromises. I do not believe in capitulation.

Dreams fulfilled are imperfect.

I was born and bred in a tiny, low-ceilinged ground-floor apartment.

The battlefield is first and foremost horrible stenches, not sights, not sounds, but stenches. They don't travel well into literature.

We lived through a relatively golden age between the end of World War II and Sept. 11, 2001.