The only virtue on which I pride myself is my self-doubt; when a writer loses her self-doubt, the time has come to lay aside her pen.

I am indebted to the cat for a particular kind of honorable deceit, for a greater control over myself, for a characteristic aversion to brutal sounds, and for the need to keep silent for long periods of time.

I believe there are more urgent and honorable occupations than the incomparable waste of time we call suffering.

The day after that wedding night I found that a distance of a thousand miles, abyss and discovery and irremediable metamorphosis, separated me from the day before.

If I can't have too many truffles, I'll do without truffles.

A kindly gesture bestowed by us on an animal arouses prodigies of understanding and gratitude.

When she raises her eyelids it's as if she were taking off all her clothes.