Nudity is the uniform of the other side... nudity is a shroud.

For Sabina, living in truth, lying neither to ourselves nor to others, was possible only away from the public: the moment someone keeps an eye on what we do, we involuntarily make allowances for that eye, and nothing we do is truthful. Having a public, keeping a public in mind, means living in lies.

Ambition is a poor excuse for not having sense enough to be lazy.

Extremism means borders beyond which life ends, and a passion for extremism, in art and in politics, is a veiled longing for death.

The stupidity of people comes from having an answer for everything. The wisdom of the novel comes from having a question for everything.

Dreaming is not merely an act of communication (or coded communication, if you like); it is also an aesthetic activity, a game of the imagination, a game that is a value in itself. Our dreams prove that to imagine--to dream about things that have not happened--is among mankind's deepest needs. Herein lies the danger. If dreams were not beautiful, they would be quickly forgotten.

Disgust at having to talk about oneself is what distinguishes novelistic talent from lyric talent.