Graham Greene famously said that all writers need a chip of ice in their heart; Cusk can come across as the most beautiful ice palace of stalactites and stalagmites, and some people find her company, albeit by proxy, about as inviting as a long weekend in a walk-in frigidaire.
Julie BurchillPeople - and I include myself - get fat because they choose pleasure over self-denial.
Julie BurchillSurely being a Professional Beauty - let alone an ageing one - is one of the most insecure and doomed careers imaginable.
Julie BurchillIt seems that one moment I was this little kid only caring about animals and flowers and stuff, and then the next minute I was this raging stew of hormones. I don't know if you've ever been a raging stew of anything, but I wouldn't particularly recommend it.
Julie Burchill