The prospect of a long day at the beach makes me panic. There is no harder work I can think of than taking myself off to somewhere pleasant, where I am forced to stay for hours and 'have fun'.

... I vowed that I would always respect the right of an individual to kill himself. Whether suicide was a moral or immoral act I no longer felt sure, but of the dignity of its intransigence I was convinced.

For most of my life, I have wanted broad impact but now, at 72, I'm not so sure that's always my first priority.

The prospect of a long day at the beach makes me panic. There is no harder work I can think of than taking myself off to somewhere pleasant, where I am forced to stay for hours and 'have fun'.

Confession makes you a more trustworthy narrator.

I like the freedom that comes with lowered expectations.

In new work, we need to see the shadow, however faint, of previous literary effort.