What interests me is the surprising enormous extent to which most people accept the fate that's been given to them, and find some dignity.

Even at the time, I realised this couldn't be right, that this interpretation didn't fit with the rest of the lyrics. But that wasn't an issue with me. The song was about what I said, and I used to listen to it again and again, on my own, whenever I got the chance.

I can't even say I made my own mistakes. Really - one has to ask oneself - what dignity is there in that?

I think there is a huge difference between writers who have very big sales, and writers who have small sales. Even writers with very high reputations, even Nobel prize winners, often sell in very low figures.

I started as a songwriter and wanted to be like Leonard Cohen. I've always seen my stories as enlarged songs.

There's still a part of me that thinks I have to write a really good novel. I'm not trying to say I'm not happy with the novels I've written in the past. But it always feels to me like there's another one that I have to write that will really say what I want to say, and really paint this world that I can see hazily in my head.

I think jogging is bad for your health. All that pressure on the knees and back cannot be good for you.