Death is the great Maecenas, Death is the great angel of writing. You must write because you are not going to live any more.

There is no creation without tradition; the 'new' is an inflection on a preceding form; novelty is always a variation on the past.

I have never considered myself a writer in exile because I grew up outside of my own country, because my father was a diplomat. Therefore, I grew up in Brazil, Chile, Argentina, the United States, I studied in Switzerland - so I've always had perspective on my country - I am thankful for that.

Don't classify me, read me. I'm a writer, not a genre.

For me, life without literature is inconceivable. I think that Don Quixote in a physical sense never existed, but Don Quixote exists more than anybody who existed in 1605. Much more. There's nobody who can compete with Don Quixote or with Hamlet. So in the end we have the reality of the book as the reality of the world and the reality of history.

I live through risk. Without risk there is no art. You should always be on the edge of a cliff about to fall down and break your neck.

In the name of certainty, the greatest crimes have been committed against humanity.