A writer - and, I believe, generally all persons - must think that whatever happens to him or her is a resource.

Being with you and not being with you is the only way I have to measure time.

Unlike the novel, a short story may be, for all purposes, essential.

It also occurred to him that throughout history, humankind has told two stories: the story of a lost ship sailing the Mediterranean seas in quest of a beloved isle, and the story of a god who allows himself to be crucified on Golgotha.

The certainty that everything has already been written annuls us, or renders us phantasmal.

I have no personal system of philosophy. I never attempt to do that. I am merely a man of letters.

As to my writing short pieces, there are two reasons I can give you. The first is my invincible laziness. The second is that I've always been fond of short stories, and it always took me some trouble to get through a novel.