Thank heaven, though, one of the few mistakes I haven't made is to talk about the unwritten book.

I think that all writers feel alienated. ... I know that I do. ... I still feel, as I think most creative people do, absolutely isolated.

The things that are done in the name of the shareholder are, to me, as terrifying as the things that are done - dare I say it - in the name of God.

If you see the world as gloomily as I see it, the only thing to do is laugh or shoot yourself.

A lot of people see doubt as legitimate philosophical posture. They think of themselves in the middle, whereas of course really, they're nowhere.

I taught principally German language and literature at Eton. But any master with private pupils must be prepared to teach anything they ask for. That can be as diverse as the early paintings of Salvador Dali or how bumblebees manage to fly.

I move my lips when I read -- I'm painfully slow -- so I like really good English.