Reality in our century is not something to be faced.

In the taxi I let my hand lie on her leg like a promise, but I had no intention of keeping my promise.

What have we all got to expect that we allow ourselves to be so lined with disappointment?

Time has its revenges, but revenge seems so often sour. Wouldn’t we all do better not trying to understand, accepting the fact that no human being will ever understand another, not a wife with a husband, nor a parent a child? Perhaps that’s why men have invented God – a being capable of understanding.

O God, You've done enough, You've robbed me of enough, I'm too tired and old to learn to love, leave me alone for ever.

There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in...We should be thankful we cannot see the horrors and degradations lying around our childhood, in cupboards and bookshelves, everywhere.

Insecurity twists meanings and poisons trust. In a closely beleaguered city every sentry is a potential traitor.