The historian will tell you what happened. The novelist will tell you what it felt like.

I like to think of myself as an unmediated novelist - or perhaps a national novelist.

Things that appear on the front page of the newspaper as 'fact' are far more dangerous than the games played by a novelist, and can lead to wars.

It's like driving a car at night. You never see further than your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.

If the people raise a howl against my barbarity and cruelty, I will answer that war is war, and not popularity seeking.

Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.