I carried recipes in my head like maps.

I could do with a bit more excess. From now on I'm going to be immoderate--and volatile--I shall enjoy loud music and lurid poetry. I shall be rampant.

I think everybody has a secret life.

It isn't just a village. The houses aren't just places to live. Everything belongs to everybody. Everyone belongs to everyone else. Even a single person can make a difference.

I'm politically inclined towards the left, but I don't like to be in anyone's gang; I'm a bit of a loose cannon.

I don't listen to music when I'm writing, but I often do when I'm reworking, editing or when I need to relax.

It's a feeling which tells me that any woman can be beautiful in the eyes of a man who loves her.