In an oppressive society the truth-telling nature of literature is of a different order, and sometimes valued more highly than other elements in a work of art.

Global warming is more of a blessing than a curse.

I'm interested in such things as the difference between how we perceive the world and what the world turns out to be. The difference is between the stories we tell others and the stories we tell ourselves. There is a wonderful Russian saying, which I use as the epigraph of one of my novels, which goes, He lies like an eyewitness. Which is very sly, clever and true.

Start with the notion that yours is the sole responsibility unless there's powerful evidence to the contrary

Memories of childhood were the dreams that stayed with you after you woke.

To look at ourselves from afar, to make the subjective suddenly objective: this gives us a psychic shock.

There's nothing wrong with being a genius who can fascinate the young. Rather, there's something wrong with the young who can't be fascinated by a genius.