Nothing had happened yet in my life except the need to get out of it.

We have lost the art of public tenderness, these small gestures of wiping and washing; we have forgotten how abjectly the body welcomes a formal touch.

To be able to have the space to sit down and write has always been my central policy.

In more static societies, like Ireland, you can tell where a person is from by their surname, or where their grandparents are from.

I have a small room to write in. One wall is completely covered in books. And I face the window with the curtain closed to stop the light hitting the computer.

One of the reasons I write is I like being surprised

I can't think of anything you might say about Irish people that is absolutely true.