All interesting heroes have an Achilles heel.

...he went into the sitting room, put on a Duke Ellington record he had bought after seeing Gene Hackman sitting on the overnight bus in The Conversation to the sound of some fragile piano notes that were the loneliest Harry had ever heard.

When I finish a book, I'm so exhausted that I'm sort of letting myself think that this could be the end.

Do what boxers do, sway with the punches. Don't resist. If any of what happens at work gets to you, just let it. You won't be able to shut it out in the long term anyway. Take it bit by bit, release it like a dam, don't let it collect until the wall develops cracks.

Love surrounds you like steam in the shower. You can't see the individual drops, but you get warm. And wet. And clean.

Evil is not a thing. It cannot take possession of you. It's the opposite; it's a void, an absence of goodness. The only thing you can be frightened of here is yourself.

A rat is neither good nor evil. It does what a rat has to do.