“[Patricia Highsmith] was overwhelmed by sensory stimulation - there were too many people and too much noise and she just could not handle the supermarket. She continually jumped, afraid that someon...”

“After reading Burgum, [Patricia Highsmith] wrote in her cahier that, like Kafka, she felt she was a pessimist, unable to formulate a system in which an individual could believe in God, government o...”

“[Patricia Highsmith] was an extremely unbalanced person, extremely hostile and misanthropic and totally incapable of any kind of relationship, not just intimate ones. I felt sorry for her, because ...”

“[Patricia Highsmith] was a figure of contradictions: a lesbian who didn't particularly like women; a writer of the most insightful psychological novels who, at times, appeared bored by people; a mi...”

“If [Patricia Highsmith] saw an acquaintance walking down the sidewalk she would deliberately cross over so as to avoid them. When she came in contact with people, she realised she split herself int...”

“The artistic life is a long and lovely suicide precisely because it involves the negation of self; as Highsmith imagined herself as her characters, so Ripley takes on the personae of others and in ...”

“Playing along in the yard, The blue sky sparkles against the earthly green,Creating such harmony!A pond, nearby.Untroubled waters mirrors the ether's dreams.A grand echo of my Divine Heart!I am One”

“Every religion in the world has had a subset of devotees who seek a direct, transcendent experience with God, excusing themselves from fundamentalist scriptural or dogmatic study in order to person...”

“Thou seekest Lail. Yet she manifesteth herself within thee.Thou deemest her to be elsewhere, but elsewhere existeth not.That is a madness, well-known to lovers. So be on your guard, for otherness i...”

“No work is so important you have to do it.”

“We have every piece of data on 200 million people, he said, ticking off his fingers. We have their bank accounts. We know how much they make and how much they spend and where. We have their social ...”

“The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.”

“The more you talk about them, the more important they will feel. The more you listen to them, the more important you will make them feel.”

“My mother always says people should be able to take care of themselves, even if they're rich and important.”

“There is no job more important than parenting. This I believe.”