The night was a time for bestial affinities, for drawing closer to oneself.

But there were too many points at which the other self could invade the self he wanted to preserve, and there were too many forms of invasion: certain words, sounds, lights, actions his hands or feet performed, and if he did nothing at all, heard and saw nothing, the shouting of some triumphant inner voice that shocked him and cowed him.

I think J.D. Salinger is correct in granting no interviews, and in making no speeches

The conversation seemed just as boring and forgettable as details of American history around 1805, for example.

He loved possessions, not masses of them, but a select few that he did not part with.They gave a man self-respect. Not ostentation but quality, and the love that cherished the quality. Possessions reminded him that he existed, and made him enjoy his existence. It was as simple as that. And wasn' t that worth something? He existed.

I prefer to live in the country where it's quiet. Woody Allen movies there are dubbed into Italian.

Life is a long failure of understanding ... a long, mistaken shutting of the heart.