I defend both the freedom of expression and society's right to counter it. I must pay the price for differing. It is the natural way of things.

Happy is he who can give himself up.

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

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

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

I believe society has a right to defend itself, just as the individual has the right to attack that with which he disagrees.

I've never worked in politics, never been a member of an official committee or a political party.