Travel is glamorous only in retrospect.

... the grand tour is just the inspired man's way of heading home.

I hate vacations. I hate them. I have no fun on them. I get nothing done. People sit and relax, but I don't want to relax. I want to see something.

The monotony of staying in one place is the best thing for writing a novel. Having regular habits, a kind of security, but especially no big surprises, no shocks.

Reading is also a journey. It's a process of discovery.

All travel is circular. I had been jerked through Asia, making a parabola on one of the planet's hemispheres. After all, the grand tour is just the inspired man's way of heading home.

You can't write about a friend, you can only write about a former friend.