I am looking for the novelists whose writing is an extension of their intellect rather than an extension of their neurosis.

We only rise above mediocrity when there's something at stake. p. 174

It's good to bear in mind that like it or not, enlightenment has always been, even in a golden age, pretty much limited to an elite.

And what would our ideas of God, of religion, be like if they had come to us through the minds of women? Ever think of that?

Don't trust anybody who'd rather be grammatically correct than have a good time.

Slavic peoples get their physical characteristics from potatoes, their smoldering inquietude from radishes, their seriousness from beets.

It's entirely possible to function as a free-thinking individual without succumbing to narcissism. This can be tricky at times, I suppose, but then so can the tango - particularly if you're dancing alone.