Broad-mindedness is related to tolerance; open-mindedness is the sibling of peace.

What I've always tried to find in my books are points at which the private lives of the characters, and also my own, intersect with the public life of the culture.

It may be argued that the past is a country from which we have all emigrated, that its loss is part of our common humanity.

If you have children you worry about the world you're leaving them.

We all owe death a life.

Literature is the one place in any society where, within the secrecy of our own heads, we can hear voices talking about everything in every possible way.

The difference between memoir and autobiography, as far as I see it, is that a memoir is there primarily to tell one particular story, whereas an autobiography tries to be a full account of a life.