I am convinced that, except in a few extraordinary cases, one form or another of an unhappy childhood is essential to the formation of exceptional gifts."

"Even memory is not necessary for love. There is a land of the living and a land of the dead and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only meaning."

"I do borrow from other writers, shamelessly! I can only say in my defense, like the woman brought before the judge on a charge of kleptomania, "I do steal, but, your Honor, only from the very best stores."

Never support two weaknesses at the same time. It's your combination sinners --your lecherous liars and your miserly drunkards --who dishonor the vices and bring them into bad repute.

Literature is the orchestration of platitudes.