It is impossible to go through life without trust: that is to be imprisoned in the worst cell of all, oneself.

He entered the territory of lies without a passport for return.

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.

One never knows enough about characters in real life to put them into novels. One gets started and then, suddenly, one can not remember what toothpaste they use; what are their views on interior decoration, and one is stuck utterly. No, major characters emerge; minor ones may be photographed.

So much in writing depends on the superficiality of one's days.

The border means more than a customs house, a passport officer, a man with a gun. Over there everything is going to be different; life is never going to be quite the same again after your passport has been stamped.

So long as one is happy one can endure any discipline: it was unhappiness that broke down the habits of work.