The inspiration comes from everywhere, from what I grew up with. There's so much silliness and nonsense in the world that we regard as normal working procedure. The satirical point of the view may be to counterpoint that. The way we look at classics has been hijacked by the intelligentsia - Shakespeare is highbrow and seen as something clever people do, which isn't right at all. I basically pull inspiration from everywhere.

A missing arm might ruin your symmetry. Personal asymmetry where I come from is a big taboo and brings great shame on the family and sometimes even the whole village." "Do you then have to kill yourself over it or something?" "Goodness me, no! The family and village just have to learn to be ashamed--and nuts to them for being so oversensitive.

Growth purely for its own sake is the philosophy of cancer.

Governments and fashions come and go but Jane Eyre is for all time.

I would so hate to be a first-person character! Always on your guard, always having people read your thoughts!

Apart from the faint odor of ink that pervaded the scene, it might have been real.

Death and the end of one's life are two very different things indeed.