Intellectuals who live in Hungary, or who wish to work or lecture there, are extremely circumspect in their criticism.

I stand on my public record as a defender of the human rights of Muslims, notably my work for Moazzam Begg and other British Muslims detained without trial in Guantanamo Bay.

People want to get back to the source. The old school. They want things they can touch.

I like moral judgment to emerge from the reader. We are being sold a very simplistic morality by our leaders at a time when nuance and understanding are at a premium.

When I try to understand somebody, create a character, I fall into them. When I think writers are telling me what to think, I get harrumphy.

There's nothing New York likes more than a thing. Or a place. Or a place that's a thing. Or a thing that happens to be a place.