Few women see power as an end in itself. The point of power is the freedom to cultivate roses.

I'm not classically pretty; I've always been too heavy; I've had thyroid disease and it's very hard for me to lose weight - but I've always had men pursue me. I've always had that 'it' thing. God knows why. Maybe it's pheromones, I don't know.

Sometimes it was worth all the disadvantages of marriage just to have that: one friend in an indifferent world.

I know some good marriages-marriages where both people are just trying to get through their days by helping each other, being good to each other.

Writing about sex turns out to be just writing about life.

Whenever I go anywhere but Italy for a vacation, I always feel vaguely disappointed, as if I have made a mistake.

No one ever found wisdom without also being a fool. Writers, alas, have to be fools in public, while the rest of the human race can cover its tracks.