We took away your art because we thought it would reveal your souls. Or to put it more finely, we did it to prove you had souls at all..

You need to remember that. If you’re to have decent lives, you have to know who you are and what lies ahead of you, every one of you..

If you are under the impression you have already perfected yourself, you will never rise to the heights you are no doubt capable of..

I've always had a great fondness for English detective fiction such as Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers..

I don't have a deep link with England like, say, Jonathan Coe or Hanif Kureishi might demonstrate. For me it is like a mythical place..

What is pertinent is the calmness of that beauty, its sense of restraint..

One need hardly dwell on the catastrophic possibility of uttering a bantering remark only to discover it wholly inappropriate.

And so we stood together like that, at the top of that field for what seemed like ages, not saying anything, just holding each other, while the wind ….

I felt slightly superior to student politics, for instance. I had no reason to think this, but I thought of myself as slightly more seasoned. I becam….

When we lost something precious, and we'd looked and looked and still couldn't find it, then we didn't have to be completely heartbroken. We still ha….

When I was younger, I didn't read that much. I was more interested in film and music. Now I'm curious. I want to know what it's all about..

I started as a songwriter and wanted to be like Leonard Cohen. I've always seen my stories as enlarged songs..

I grew up in Britain before it became a multicultural place, so in many ways I have a nostalgia for an England that's vanished - the England of my ch….

We all live inside bodies that will deteriorate. But when you look at human beings, they're capable of very decent things: love, loyalty. When time i….

I don't think it's any fun, even if you are one of the most respected authors in the world like Margaret Atwood, to keep being nominated and not win..

I work very regular hours, roughly 9 to 5:30. I think I have it much easier than a lot of parents. I just sit at home, I have a very flexible timetab….

I spent ages figuring out things like viewpoint, how you tell the story, and so on..

I think jogging is bad for your health. All that pressure on the knees and back cannot be good for you..

When I got to 40 or so... I had the sense when I looked back over my life I would actually see a mess of decisions, a few of which I had thought abou….

I still have a suspicion of charity and think the state has a role to play in many areas. And although for most of the years since I have been a rath….

…It’s hard to appreciate the beauty of a world when one doubts its very validity….But I’ve long since lost all such doubts, Ono,’ he continued. ‘When….