I had jumped off the edge, and then, at the very last moment, something reached out and caught me in midair. That something is what I define as love. It is the one thing that can stop a man from falling, powerful enough to negate the laws of gravity.

I thought, "Well, I'm writing about early childhood, so maybe it would make sense to write about late childhood as well, early adulthood." Those were my thoughts, and this was how this crazy book [Winter Journal] was composed. I've never seen a book with pictures like at the end, pictures related to things you've read before.

For one reason or another, I became a passionate reader when I was very little. As soon as I could read, I wanted to read.

I think if we didn't contradict ourselves, it would be awfully boring. It would be tedious to be alive.

Every novel is an equal collaboration between the writer and the reader and it is the only place in the world where two strangers can meet on terms of absolute intimacy.

I've written books that have taken me fifteen years, from first sentence to last, and some that only take three or four months.

No one can cross the boundary into another -- for the simple reason that no one can gain access to himself