I for one don't need a supreme "sacred" arbiter in order to be a moral being.

In our time, we have become too interested in the artist and his or her character and experience as a way of understanding art. In my view, you should be able to read a book or see a film without knowing a single thing about conditions or circumstances or character of the artist, and experience the work to the full without such information. Sometimes I feel - speaking for myself - that people know much too much about me, and I wish people knew less and could just read these books and respond to them purely as words on a page.

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

I have been a film buff all my life and believe that the finest cinema is fully the equal of the best novels.

Once you get that instinct for the fictiveness, the fictionality of fiction, it kind of sets you free.

The suicide bomber's imagination leads him to believe in a brilliant act of heroism, when in fact he is simply blowing himself up pointlessly and taking other people's lives.

I'm not saying I am never going to fall in love again, but there is no need to marry.