As a society, you were unwilling to reflect upon the shared pain that united you with those who attacked you. You retreated into myths of your own difference, assumptions of your own superiority. And you acted out these beliefs on the stage of the world, so that the entire planet was rocked by the repercussions of your tantrums, not least my family, now facing war thousands of miles away.

Only in novels can we take another human being into our head and create something jointly.

I felt suddenly very young - or perhaps I felt my age.

It is the effect of scarcity; one’s rules of propriety make one thirst for the improper.

Why the brevity? Because I'd rather people read my book twice than only half-way through

Farmers and people who make a living from the land are finding it impossible to survive. So the first step is to get out of that place. Come to the city where there are opportunities.

A beard is something that is almost like a mirror to the viewer. When someone sees you wearing a beard, they're seeing something in their own imagination because it's still me whether I'm bearded or not.