One should never underestimate the power of books.

The joke is the purest, most essential form of storytelling. Every word has to count.

I was always interested in French poetry sort of as a sideline to my own work, I was translating contemporary French poets. That kind of spilled out into translation as a way to earn money, pay for food and put bread on the table.

When I think of Tokyo Story, yeah, it is like a novella. That doesn't mean it's not great. Some of my favorite Tolstoy works are his novellas.

I believe that the whole idea of the consumer society is tottering. We've kept ourselves going by producing more and more goods, most of which people don't need. I'm anti-consumerism; I own four pairs of black Levis and that's it.

The things we remember are often things that have great emotional importance, and so they have a lasting effect.

Changing your mind is probably one of the most beautiful things people can do. And I've changed my mind about a lot of things over the years.