There is an incompatibility between literary creation and political activity.
No matter how ephemeral it is, a novel is something, while despair is nothing.
Like writing, reading is a protest against the insufficiencies of life.
The secret to a masterpiece is 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration.
When I was young, when I started to write, we were totally convinced that literature was a kind of weapon.
We were trained as writers with the idea that literature is something that can change reality, that it's not just a very sophisticated entertainment, but a way to act.