On Sunday morning I went out for a while in the neighbourhood; I bought some raisin bread. The day was warm but a little sad, as Sundays often are in Paris, especially when one doesn't believe in God.

Why am I popular? I don't know. Is it a mistake? I should think it's a mistake somewhere.

The great advantage of a novel is you can put in whatever comes into your head - it has the same shape as the human brain.

I think it's more difficult to live without a religion, definitely.

In my own writing, I think of myself as a realist who exaggerates a little.

Active people don't change the world profoundly; ideas do. Napoleon is less important in world history than Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

A reactionary is someone who wants to return to a previous state - that's never a possibility in my books. For me, everything's irreversible in the life of a society, as well as an individual's.