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.

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.

Nothing records the effects of a sad life so graphically as the human body.

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

You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.

It's not surprising that truly humanitarian manifestos originate frequently in minority circles or with people whose consciences are troubled by the problems of minorities.

I am practically in the employ of Mr. Nobel. I have to meet everyone he sends my way.