Turks have a dismissive phrase: he works like a clerk. I have turned this insult around: I am proud to say that I work like a clerk.

Writing my own diary is the best form of remembrance, but only for my own use. I need these notes; it's like an impulse.

I don't want to be a tree; I want to be its meaning.

I don’t like to make strong statements. I want to write strong novels … I keep my deep radical things for my novels.

Oscar Wilde always makes me smile - with respect and admiration. His short stories prove that it is possible to be both sarcastic, even cynical, but deeply compassionate. Just seeing the cover of one of Wildes books in a bookshop makes me smile.

The gap between compassion and surrender is love’s darkest, deepest region.

Immersing oneself in the problems of a book is a good way to keep from thinking of love.