A superficial education would be worse than none. But a full education would open every man's eyes to the nature of human existence.

Who gives a damn about being remembered? That's really for amateurs.

The Americans only like things they can label, even if it kills them. Think of those poor Latin American writers. Some of them are very good. But the "magical realism" label has absolutely ruined them. The critics are like tourists who return from a trip saying they've "done" Machu Picchu: "Okay, we've done magical realism," so now we can throw it out.

I’m exactly as I appear. There is no warm, lovable person inside. Beneath my cold exterior, once you break the ice, you find cold water.

By 1948, the Italians had begun to pull themselves together, demonstrating once more their astonishing ability to cope with disaster which is so perfectly balanced by their absolute inability to deal with success

True wisdom is to know the extent of what you don't know quite as well as you know what you do know.

There are two things you never turn down: sex and appearing on television.