The British Have Always Made Terrible Parents.

Every Time I Write A Book, I've Probably Taken Five Years Off My Life.

I Don't Go To Church Any More, But I Think That Catholicism Is Rather Like The Brand They Use On Cattle: I Feel So Formed In That Catholic Mould That I Don't Think I Could Adopt Any Other Form Of Spirituality. I Still Get Feelings Of Consolation About Churches.

Leaving Things Behind And Starting Again Is A Way Of Coping With Difficulties. I Learnt Very Early In My Life That I Was Able To Leave A Place And Still Remain Myself.

Hope Is Like One Of Those Orchids That Grows Around Toxic Waste: Lovely In Itself - And An Assertion, If You Like, Of Indefatigable Good - But A Sure Sign That Something Nasty Lies Underneath.

As Writers Go, I Have A Skin Of Average Thickness. I Am Pleased By A Good Review, Disappointed By A Bad. None Of It Penetrates Far Enough To Influence The Thing I Write Next.