The satirist isn't just looking at things ironically but militantly - he wants to change them, and intends to have an effect on the world.

I sometimes feel I'm a sort of cult writer, rather than a mainstream writer, in that those who like my stuff like it a lot, but the appeal is not that broad.

Most writers need a wound, either physical or spiritual.

Amis is acutely, vibrantly sensitive to the different registers of laughter. He knows that it can be the most affirming and uniquely human sound, and also the most sinister and animalistic one. He understands every note of every octave that separates the liberating shout of mirth from the cackle of a bully or the snigger of a sadist.

Only in art will the lion lie down with the lamb, and the rose grow without thorn.

Don't dumb down; always write for your top five percent of readers.

Religious belief is without reason and without dignity, and its record is near-universally dreadful.