And that's a life, isn't it? Some achievements and some disappointments. It's been interesting to me, though I wouldn't complain or be amazed if others found it less so. Maybe, in a way, Adrian knew what he was doing. Not that I would have missed my own life for anything, you understand. [pp.60-61]

Books say: She did this because. Life says: She did this. Books are where things are explained to you; life is where things aren't. I'm not surprised some people prefer books.

Well, to be honest I think I tell less truth when I write journalism than when I write fiction.

Do we tend to recall the most important parts of a novel or those that speak most directly to us, the truest lines or the flashiest ones?

When you read a great book, you don't escape from life, you plunge deeper into it.

The best form of government is one that is dying, because that means it’s giving way to something else.

The more you learn, the less you fear. "Learn" not in the sense of academic study, but in the practical understanding of life.