The ideal reader cannot sleep when holding the writer he was meant to be with.

English writing tends to fall into two categories - the big, baggy epic novel or the fairly controlled, tidy novel. For a long time, I was a fan of the big, baggy novel, but there's definitely an advantage to having a little bit more control.

The library was the place I went to find out what there was to know. It was absolutely essential.

It made me feel that I had to work very hard, but I've always felt I had to work very hard to get my own approval.

Any woman who counts on her face is a fool.

It's a feeling of happiness that knocks me clean out of adjectives. I think sometimes that the best reason for writing novels is to experience those four and a half hours after you write the final word.

You can feel bad... I mean, that's not illegal.