In my own writing, I think of myself as a realist who exaggerates a little.

The great advantage of a novel is you can put in whatever comes into your head - it has the same shape as the human brain.

Anything can happen in life, especially nothing.

The world outside had its own rules, and those rules were not human.

The Americans are completely stupid. The intellectual level in any single European country is higher than in America.

The absence of the will to live is, alas, not sufficient to make one want to die.

The love of a dog is a pure thing. He gives you a trust which is total. You must not betray it.

In order to pass the time I told him the story of the German who ate the other German whom he’d met on the internet.

It's a curious idea to reproduce when you don't even like life.

Tenderness is a deeper instinct than seduction, which is why it is so hard to give up hope.

The most stupid religion is Islam.

People don't buy what you do

That's what makes a tragedy a tragedy. There's no rhyme or reason to it, only heartbreak. The only thing you can do when the ground stops shaking and the waters recede is try to save whoever's left.

Power is at the root of the human experience. Our attitudes and beliefs--positive or negative--are all extensions of how we define and use power.

A couple of hanging glands have nothing to do with making someone a man.

School used to be an escape. Now it's just another place with too much pressure, too much confrontation, & so not enough joy.

I don't do well at picking first single.

Child prodigy is a curse because you've got all those terrible possibilities.

If government is inevitable, the challenge is to come up with the most effective one possible.

Since hate poisons the soul, don't cherish enmities or grudges: avoid people who make you unhappy.

The hard fact is that not everyone does get published.