Perhaps the reason we are unable to love is that we yearn to be loved, that is, we demand something - love - from our partner instead of delivering ourselves up to him demand-free and asking for nothing but his company.

The serial number of a human specimen is the face, that accidental and unrepeatable combination of features. It reflects neither character nor soul, nor what we call the self. The face is only the serial number of a specimen

Nothing requires a greater effort of thought than arguments to justify the rule of non-thought.

The novel is a meditation on existence as seen through the medium of imaginary characters.

Our dreams prove that to imagine - to dream about things that have not happened - is among mankind's deepest needs.

Happiness is the longing for repetition.

The characters in my novels are my own unrealised possibilities. That is why I am equally fond of them all and equally horrified by them. Each one has crossed a border that I myself have circumvented.