Books choose their authors; the act of creation is not entirely a rational and conscious one.

Without water we are nothing", the traveler thought. "Even an emperor, denied water, would swiftly turn to dust. Water is the real monarch and we are all its slaves.

You never know the answers to the questions of life until you are asked.

A man is sane only to the extent that he subscribes to a previously-agreed construction of reality.

I'm no friend of Tony Blair's and I consider the Middle East policies of the United States and the UK fatal.

We who have grown up on a diet of honour and shame can still grasp what must seem unthinkable to people living in the aftermath of the death of God and of tragedy: that men will sacrifice their dearest love on the implacable altars of their pride.

If you want to be a serious writer, then you have to write what there is to write about. If you're going to pull your punches and second-guess yourself and not do things because you're worried, then don't write. Stay home and do something else.