I am not the we of anyone

The end of confession is to tell the truth to and for oneself.

The idea of writer as sage is pretty much dead today. I would certainly feel very uncomfortable in the role.

Once I lived in time as a fish in water, breathing it, drinking it, sustained by it. Now I kill time and time kills me.

Become major, Paul. Live like a hero. That's what the classics teach us. Be a main character. Otherwise what is life for?

A book should be an axe to chop open the frozen sea inside us.

No, Paul, I couldn't care less if you tell me made-up stories. Our lies reveal as much about us as our truths.' (Said to Paul by Elizabeth Costello, the interloping novelist-angel-inner voice).