I did not find him absurd. I saw he was kind, that he was on the verge of real love. I thought it would be nice for me to be in love with him, too.

For this was the round of love: fear which leads on desire, tenderness and fury, and that brutal anguish which triumphantly follows pleasure.

If you treat life well, life is usually good to you. And I love life. There's a long-standing affair between us.

Writing is a question of finding a certain rhythm. I compare it to the rhythms of jazz. Much of the time life is a sort of rhythmic progression of three characters. If one tells oneself that life is like that, one feels it less arbitrary.

Writing is just having a sheet of paper, a pen and not a shadow of an idea of what you are going to say.

Art must take reality by surprise.

Looking for pleasure is the best way to ensure you won't find it.