Authors always take rejection badly. They equate it with infanticide.

I knew the facts of death before I knew the facts of life. There never was a time when I didn't see the skull beneath the skin.

A regime which combines perpetual surveillance with total indulgence is hardly conducive to healthy development.

The secret of contentment is never to allow yourself to want anything which reason tells you you haven't a chance of getting.

For me, the dead remain dead. If I couldn't believe that, I don't think I could go on living.

There is no point in regretting any part of the past. The past can't now be altered, the future has yet to be lived, and consciously to experience every moment of the present is the only way to gain at least the illusion of immortality.

Generosity is a virtue for individuals, not governments. When governments are generous it is with other people’s money, other people’s safety, other people’s future.