I was thinking that I should be content to kiss him until the break of day. Bertrand ran out of kisses too soon; desire made them superfluous in his eyes. They were only a stage on the road to pleasure, not something inexhaustible and self-sufficient, as Luc had revealed them to me.

Passion is the salt of life, and that at the times when we are under its spell this salt is indispensable to us, even if we have got along very well without it before.

After Proust, there are certain things that simply cannot be done again. He marks off for you the boundaries of your talent.

In love, as in finance, only the rich can get credit.

Whisky, gambling and Ferraris are better than housework.

For me writing is a question of finding a certain rhythm. I compare it to the rhythms of jazz.

I don't think there's any intrinsic difference between a lover and a husband. ... If I were cynical, I would say that a woman should have both a good husband and a lover. But I'm not cynical so I'll just say that a woman should have a lover who's a good husband and a husband who's a good lover, perhaps both.