The walls of books around him dense with the past formed a kind of insulation against the present world and its disasters.

I have a secret passion for mercy. . . but justice is what keeps happening to people.

Nothing is wrong with California that a rise in the ocean level wouldn't cure.

The surprise with which a detective novel concludes should set up tragic vibrations which run backward through the entire structure.

The walls of books around him, dense with the past, formed a kind of insulation against the present world of disasters.

There are certain families whose members should all live in different towns - different states, if possible - and write each other letters once a year.

Hell lies at the bottom of the human heart.

When there's trouble in a family, it tends to show up in the weakest member. And all the other members of the family know that. They make allowances for the one in trouble.

The walls were lined with books, many of them in foreign languages, like insulation against the immediate present.

Freud was one of the greatest influences on me. He made myth into psychiatry, and I've been trying to turn it back into myth again.

An ugly woman with a gun is a terrible thing.

...I retreat into my fictional world where everything makes sense - but even there I can't even control what people do...

Parents can only do what they think is best, with the experience they have. The learning curve for every parent is that there's a limit to how much they can shield children from.

I've seen so many period pieces in my life, I really enjoy them so much, a lot of my favorite movies are period pieces.

I always respected Barry Bonds, and I wanted to let him know that I did in a certain way.

I embrace country music because of love, a love of what I came from.

Democracy is not brute numbers; it is a genuine union of true individuals...the essence of democracy is creating. The technique of democracy is group organization.

Arrogance frowns; pride smiles.

The most essential thing in life is to establish an unafraid, heartfelt communication with others.

When AIDS was at its most brutal, frightening, my-God-what-are-we-going-to-do era, that was when vampire stories and stories about blood and trust swept the literary world.

If everyone has to be a watchdog in order to make government work, then the foxes will also volunteer to serve.