At a certain point my novels set. They set just as hard as that jam jar. And then I know they are finished.

A leopard does not change his spots, or change his feeling that spots are rather a credit.

Anyone who picks up a Compton-Burnett finds it very hard not to put it down.

There are different kinds of wrong. The people sinned against are not always the best.

My youth is escaping without giving me anything it owes me.

We can build upon foundations anywhere if they are well and firmly laid.

As regards plot I find real life no help at all. Real life seems to have no plots. And as I think a plot desirable and almost necessary, I have this extra grudge against life.

Real life seems to have no plots.

I never know why self-sacrifice is noble. Why is it better to sacrifice oneself than someone else?

Many people misjudge the permanent effect of sorrow, and their capacity to live in the past.

Appearances are not held to be a clue to the truth,' said his cousin. 'But we seem to have no other.

Inspiration may come from many places but motivation - the love of life, daily drive and the will to thrive - that must come from you from within

I'm one of the few persons I ever met who are able to learn from experience.

McSweeney's as a publishing company is built on a business model that only works when we sell physical books. So we try to put a lot of effort into the design and production of the book-as-object.

The songs come from a vulnerable place, but expressing that part of yourself can also make you feel fearless.

I know I'm not very popular on Long Island. I don't know who's less popular, me or Joey Buttafuoco.

No matter what happens to me, I will always love the people of Syria.

Are you running away from something?

There is always room at the top - after the investigation.

I'm used to writing stories with a beginning a middle and an end in four minutes.

It used to be you rose up through the ranks, and by the time you got a job as a boss, you had done the work of everybody beneath you.