Most lives are spent putting on and taking off masks.

Democracy is something America has never really practiced. Because the Founding Fathers hated two things: monarchy and democracy. They wanted a republic, a replica of the Roman or Venetian republics. They didn't even like the etymology of the word "democracy."

The war against terror is like a war against dandruff. It's a metaphor. It's not about anything.

Writing fiction has become a priestly business in countries that have lost their faith.

If you are at the mercy of what they call print interviews and the mercy of people who write about you, they can always tell lies.

I spend most of my time in California. I feel I am fueled by rage and by the political climate there. I am angry most of the time when I am there, which might be unbearable for someone else, but for me it's fuel for my writing.

Sex is. There is nothing more to be done about it. Sex builds no roads, writes no novels and sex certainly gives no meaning to anything in life but itself.