A lot of women, when they're young, feel they have very good friends, and find later on that friendship is complicated. It's easy to be friends when everyone's 18. It gets harder the older you get, as you make different life choices, as people say in America. A lot of women's friendships begin to founder.

All novels attempt to cut neural routes through the brain, to convince us that down this road the true future of the novel lies.

All tastes are expressions of belief.

Cambridge was a joy. Tediously. People reading books in a posh place. It was my fantasy. I loved it. I miss it still.

The very reason I write is so that I might not sleepwalk through my entire life.

An essential part of power is the freedom not to think too deeply

As far as I'm concerned, if you want to find out about the last day of WWII or the roots of the Indian Mutiny, get thee to a books catalogue.