I have absolute respect for Israel and people in Israel who are critical of their own country.

Cervantes is the most important Spanish writer. But he is not the most representative of the Spanish. His irony, his sense of humor - they are too subtle to seem Spanish.

Money makes people bold and cosmopolitan; if you are poor, you are naturally conservative. Its not easy to be a bohemian when you have to worry about what is going to happen with you and with your next paycheck.

As a writer, you live in permanent self-doubt; youre on permanent trial.

I have absolute respect for Israel and people in Israel who are critical of their own country.

Here in Spain, there are Argentine Jews, children and grandchildren of immigrants of Jews who fled Germany or Austria in the thirties, and in the seventies during the dictatorship, they had to go into exile again.

There are two types of stories: public and private.