It exasperated her sometimes. The way men could be so sure of themselves. They put words together like sheds or shelves and you could stand on them they were so solid. And those feelings which overwhelmed you in the small hours turned to smoke.

As a kid, I didn't read a great deal of fiction, and I've forgotten most of what I did read.

I don't mean that literary fiction is better than genre fiction, On the contrary; novels can perform two functions and most perform only one.

Most of my work consisted of crossing out. Crossing out was the secret of all good writing.

...and there was nothing to do except to wait and to hurt.

Everyone has learning difficulties, because learning to speak French or understanding relativity is difficult.

At 20, 25, 30, we begin to realise that the possibilities of escape are getting fewer. We have jobs, children, partners, debts. This is the part of us to which literary fiction speaks.