It was a miracle; it was all a miracle: and one ought to have known, from the sufferings of saints, that miracles are horror.

When I was a child, we seemed to be living in a world remote from the rest of the world. But television has made a great difference to all of us. If something happens where I live, you see it tomorrow or perhaps even at the same time it is happening there. It's not "one world" in the sense that conflicts are resolved in the world. But we are more one world in that we know what is going on and are psychologically influenced by what goes on around us.

Censorship may have to do with literature; but literature has nothing whatever to do with censorship.

The solitude of writing is also quite frightening. It's quite close to madness, one just disappears for a day and loses touch.

Sincerity is never having an idea of oneself.

The function of a writer is to make sense of life. It is such a mystery, it changes all the time, like the light.

in writing, sex doesn't matter; it's the writing that matters.