We can't all be happy, we can't all be rich, we can't all be lucky - and it would be so much less fun if we were... There must be the dark background to show up the bright colours.

There are always two deaths, the real one and the one people know about.

It was like letting go and falling back into water and seeing yourself grinning up through the water, your face like a mask, and seeing the bubbles coming up as if you were trying to speak from under the water. And how do you know what it's like to try to speak from under water when you're drowned?

If I was bound for hell, let it be hell. No more false heaven. No more damned magic.

I've been so ridiculous all my life that a little bit more or a little bit less hardly matters now.

When I think about it, if I had to choose, I'd rather be happy than write.

I hadn't bargained for this. I didn't think it would be like this - shabby clothes, worn-out shoes, circles under your eyes, your hair getting straight and lanky, the way people look at you. ... I didn't think it would be like this