Generally, all my life, I have had strong friction with life - I was a problematic soldier, I was kicked out of the army, I was in fights. There was something about writing that was a way of experimenting with this emotion.

Translators are like ninjas. If you notice them, they’re no good.

In Israel, the role of the writer is dictated by the language in which you write. Writers see themselves as cultural prophets.

I used to feel that if I say something's wrong, I have to say how it could be made right. But what I learned from Kurt Vonnegut was that I could write stories that say I may not have a solution, but this is wrong - that's good enough.

I was born at six months, and I weighed 900 grams [less than two pounds]. I have a very heroic birth story.

During the war, there were people wishing me death, wishing my son death, wishing my wife death in very graphic ways. In the past, I would go overseas and I would say, "Israel is like my family: we disagree, but we're all brothers." I can't say that anymore, because life proves me wrong.

If you want to learn how to be happy, you have to know what is sadness first.