And if you had no tongue, no celebrating language, you’d do this: cross your hands at the wrist with palms facing towards you; place your crossed wrists over your heart (the middle of your chest, anyway); then move your hands outwards a short distance, and open them towards the object of your love. It’s just as eloquent as speech.

The greatest patriotism is to tell your country when it is behaving dishonorably, foolishly, viciously.

History is the lies of the victors.

Memory is identity....You are what you have done; what you have done is in your memory; what you remember defines who you are; when you forget your life you cease to be, even before your death.

Life isn't just addition and subtraction. There's also the accumulation, the multiplication, of loss, of failure.

When you are writing fiction your task is to reflect the fullest complications of the world

Writers of either gender ought to be able to do the opposite sex-that's one basic test of competence, after all.