There are no heroes in most of my stories. I look at our society with a critical eye and find nothing extraordinary in the people I see.

The writer interweaves a story with his own doubts, questions, and values. That is art.

Writing is for men who can think and feel, not mindless sensation seekers out of nightclubs and bars. But these are bad times. We are condemned to work with upstarts, clowns who no doubt got their training in a circus and then turned to journalism as the appropriate place to display their tricks.

I wake up early in the morning and walk for an hour. If I have something to write, I prefer to write in the morning until midday, and in the afternoon, I eat.

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

The Nobel Prize has given me, for the first time in my life, the feeling that my literature could be appreciated on an international level.

We used the Western style to express our own themes and stories. But don't forget that our heritage includes The Thousand and One Nights.