That is the mystery of grace: it never comes too late.

A man's passion for the mountain is, above all, his childhood which refuses to die.

Human love is often but the encounter of two weaknesses.

I write whenever it suits me. During a creative period I write every day; a novel should not be interrupted. When I cease to be carried along, when I no longer feel as though I were taking down dictation, I stop.

I love Germany so much I'm glad there are two of them.

The man who partakes in the breaking of the bread dares to build his house on the very core of love. He becomes, as it were, Godlike, but regardless of the strength he derives from it, his free will remains. We are always free to disown this immense grace, to abuse it. The Greatest Love may be betrayed. Fed on the Living Bread, we nevertheless conceal a part of ourselves which longs for swine's food.

I believe that only poetry counts ... A great novelist is first of all a great poet.