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.

I dreamt of being a writer once I started to read. I started to write 'Bonjour Tristesse' in bistros around the Sorbonne. I finished it, I sent it to editors. It was accepted.

happiness has always seemed to me a great achievement.

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

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

You should celebrate the end of a love affair as they celebrate death in New Orleans, with songs, laughter, dancing and a lot of wine.

A dress makes no sense unless it inspires men to take it off of you.