“I would like to carve my novel in a piece of wood. My charactersI would like to have them heavier, more three-dimensional ... My characters have a profession, have characteristics; you know their a...”

“Sunday lay so heavily in the air as to become almost nauseating. Maigret used to claim openly, half seriously, half in fun, that he had always had the knack of sensing a Sunday from his bed, withou...”

“At five-thirty the rain began to fall in great, heavy drops which bounced off the pavement before they spread out into black spots. At the same time thunder rumbled from the direction of Charenton ...”

“The fact that we are I don't know how many millions of people, yet communication, complete communication, is completely impossible between two of those people, is to me one of the biggest tragic th...”

“The lake and the mountains have become my landscape, my real world.”

“Writing is not a profession but a vocation of unhappiness.”

“Promise YourselfTo be so strong that nothingcan disturb your peace of mind.To talk health, happiness, and prosperityto every person you meet.To make all your friends feelthat there is something in ...”

“They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.”

“Of all forms of caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true happiness.”