You can never betray the people who are dead, so you go on being a public Jew; the dead can't answer slurs, but I'm here. I would love to think that Jesus wants me for a sunbeam, but he doesn't.

Existentialism is about being a saint without God; being your own hero, without all the sanction and support of religion or society.

Great writers are the saints for the godless.

A complete woman is probably not a very admirable creature. She is manipulative, uses other people to get her own way, and works within whatever system she is in.

To remain pure, a novel has to cast a moral puzzle. Anything else is mere negotiation.

There are moments when you feel free, moments when you have energy, moments when you have hope, but you can't rely on any of these things to see you through. Circumstances do that.

The essence of romantic love is that wonderful beginning, after which sadness and impossibility may become the rule.