I vividly remember the stories my grandfather told me about the carnage of the First World War, which people tend to forget was one of the worst massacres in human history.

I claim the right to take a stand once in a while.

Literature for me isn't a workaday job, but something which involves desires, dreams and fantasy.

As a writer, I've always been interested in others.

It's very useful when politicians have doubts because there are so many choices to be made in the world.

Eco sees the intellectual as an organizer of culture, someone who can run a magazine or a museum. An administrator, in fact. I think this is a melancholy situation for an intellectual.

I prefer insomnia to anaesthesia.