I read a book one day and my whole life was changed.

The writers secret is not inspiration - for it is never clear where it comes from - it is his stubbornness, his patience.

Listen to me: Life is not about principles; it`s about happiness.` `But if you don`t have any principles, and if you don`t have faith, you can`t be happy at all,` said Kadife. `That`s true. But in a brutal country like ours, where human life is cheap, it`s stupid to destroy yourself for the sake of your beliefs. Beliefs? High ideas? Only people in rich countries can enjoy such luxuries.` `Actually, it`s the other way round. In a poor country, people`s sole consolation comes from their beliefs.

Dogs do speak, but only to those who know how to listen.

Over time, I have come to see the work of literature less as narrating the world than "seeing the world with words." From the moment he begins to use words like colors in a painting, a writer can begin to see how wondrous and surprising the world is, and he breaks the bones of language to find his own voice. For this he needs paper, a pen, and the optimism of a child looking at the world for the first time.

It's a great relief for me that no one will ask me anymore: "Orhan, when will you get the Nobel Prize?"

My hero wants to belong too, but he doesn't want to give up all the things he came to value in the west.