The nicest characters in A Week in December research are, in fact, Muslims - and their religious devotion is one of the things that defines them.

I have written millions of words about contemporary England - in journalism. Why don't I take it as the background for a novel? I may do one day. But the simple answer is that it does not excite the novelistic part of my brain; it does not fire it up.

If you have only one life, you cant altogether ignore the question: are you enjoying it?

Gradually the feeling wears off, and I feel swamped again by the inexplicable pettiness of being alive.

He wrote one more paragraph for his own sake, to see what he had to say.

One thing about London is that when you step out into the night, it swallows you.

Busy is good, isn't it? Busy means we're hard at it, achieving our ends or "goals." Haven't had time to stop, or look around or think. That's considered the sign of a life well lived ... Suppose, though, you're not sure that what you're doing is at all worthwhile. Suppose you blundered into it over a spoonful of lime pickle. It's easy, it pays quite well. But really it's a distraction. It stops you thinking about what you ought to be doing.