I take everything personally- that's what being a person is all about.

There's a kind of luck that's not much more than being in the right place at the right time, a kind of inspiration that's not much more than doing the right thing in the right way, and both only really happen to you when you empty your heart of ambition, purpose, and plan; when you give yourself, completely, to the golden, fate-filled moment.

But the soul has no culture. The soul has no nations. The soul has no colour or accent or way of life. The soul is forever. The soul is one. And when the heart has its moment of truth and sorrow, the soul can't be stilled.

Love is a one-way street. Love, like respect isn't something you get; it's something you give

I think the novel form chose me. I was a writer before I became a criminal... my first instinct was to write.

Sometimes, you have to surrender before you win.

Poverty and pride are devoted blood brothers until one, always and inevitably, kills the other.