Much more than a 20th-century village storyteller, Cees Nooteboom stands as an impressive and inimitable voice among contemporary writers.

biography cannot be separated from autobiography: that is, the life written about is inextricably entangled with the life of the biographer.

The lesser you are, the more you become...

Good God! I'm out of tobacco.

To inspire is to give life. To expire is to give death.

The tallest building in the world is now in Dubai.

If human civilization is going to invade the waters of the earth, then let it be first of all to carry a message of respect.

Well Connor thought ruefully At least now I know who to thank for my anger issues.

Youth as glimpsed by its elders is a story that comes from afar, showing itself as either lovely to look at or a torment to endure.

I get nervous the more time I have to think about something so I deliberately don't give myself too much time between jobs. I take a big break and then I start working again usually.

Shift often from openness to closure.

Virtues are often conquered by vices, but their rout is most complete when it is inflicted by other virtues, more militant, more efficient, or more congenial.