personally I don't trust literature that soothes people's consciences.

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

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 prefer insomnia to anaesthesia.

No, I'm happy to go on living the life I've chosen. I'm a university teacher and I like my job.

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

Rather than regret for what I have written, I feel regret for what I shall never be able to read.