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 and large, serious fiction was the work of victims who portrayed victims for an audience of victims who, it was oddly assumed, would want to see their lives realistically portrayed.

Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.

The people are not stupid, but they are totally misinformed.

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.

You know, I've been around the ruling class all my life, and I've been quite aware of their total contempt for the people of the country.

I think the Chinese will say the hell with you and pull their money out of the United States. That's the end of our wars.