People are quite frequently eccentric.

Well, in fact everybody - everybody - in the entire nation has enough stuff in their life to write about that's interesting that they could write their autobiography. And in the end that's why I find people interesting.

Some novelists are luckier than others in the eras of their formative intellectual years, but all Weltanschauungs return, which means that most novelists have at least a chance of a revival.

Another thing I learned is that novels, even those from apparently distant times and places, remain current and enlightening, and also comforting.

Is human nature basically good or evil? No economist can embark upon his profession without considering this question, and yet they all seem to. And they all seem to think human nature is basically good, or they wouldn't be surprised by the effects of deregulation.

The essence of charity ... was not deciding what others needed and giving it to them, but giving them what they wanted.

The one thing ... maybe no family could tolerate was things coming out into the open.