The real malady is fear of life, not of death

Hosni Mubarak... his constitution is not democratic, but he is democratic. We can voice our opinions now. The press is free.

Winning Nobel imposed on me a lifestyle to which I am not used and which I would not have preferred.

I was a government employee in the morning and a writer in the evening.

I didn't make any money from my writing until much later. I published about 80 stories for nothing. I spent on literature.

Excessive concern with religion seems to me a last resort for people who have been exhausted by life.

I was afraid of marriage. I had the impression married life would take up all my time. I saw myself drowning in visits and parties. No freedom.