I don't read reviews because by then it's too late - whatever anyone says, the book won't change. It is written.

Don’t you, when strangers and friends come to call, straighten the cushions, kick the books under the bed and put away the letter you were writing? How many of us want any of us to see us as we really are? Isn’t the mirror hostile enough?

...there are two kinds of writing: the one you write and the one that writes you.

People being encouraged to make up their own minds and think for themselves is so important. This world talks endlessly about freedom of choice, but we've never been [nothing] more than a nation of robots. Everybody is seduced by corporate culture.

I walked out to brood on this life of ours, which seems from birth to death to be a steady loss, disguised by sudden gains and happiness, which persuade us of good fortune, when all the while the glass is emptying.

In my subconscious, my books were part of a single emotional journey.

One room is always enough for one person. Two rooms is not enough for two people. That is one of the conundrums in life.