Tell the truth through whichever veil comes to hand - but tell it.

I like books that expose me to people unlike me and books that do battle against caricature or simplification. That, to me, is the heroic in fiction.

I don't actually believe in the extension of consciousness after death.

Anyone over the age of thirty catching a bus can consider himself a failure.

The secret to editing your work is simple: you need to become its reader instead of its writer.

Tell the truth through whichever veil comes to hand - but tell it. Resign yourself to the lifelong sadness that comes from never ­being satisfied.

We cannot love something solely because it has been ignored. It must also be worthy of our attention.