Notoriety wasn't as good as fame, but was heaps better than obscurity.

People want to forget the impossible. It makes their world safer.

You'll think this is a bit silly, but I'm a bit--well, I have a thing about birds." "What, a phobia?" "Sort of." "Well, that's the common term for an irrational fear of birds." "What do they call a rational fear of birds, then?

Just remember, what the French say. No, probably not the French, they've got a president or something. The Brits, maybe, or the Swedes. You know what I mean?" "No, Matthew. What do they say?" "The king is dead, that's what they say. The king is dead. Long live the king.

When you start off, you have to deal with the problems of failure. You need to be thickskinned, to learn that not every project will survive.

It is going to take more than just a couple of good-hearted souls to raise this child. It will take a graveyard.

Great, big, serious novels always get awards. If it's a battle between a great, big, serious novel and a funny novel, the funny novel is doomed.