“The absence of the will to live is, alas, not sufficient to make one want to die.”

“Life is painful and disappointing. It is useless, therefore, to write new realistic novels. We generally know where we stand in relation to reality and dont care to know any more.”

“People often say that the English are very cold fish, very reserved, that they have a way of looking at things even tragedy with a sense of irony. Theres some truth in it; its pretty stupid of th...”

“Maybe I should have gone into politics. If you were a political activist, election season brought moments of intensity, whichever side you were on, and meanwhile here I was inarguably withering away,”

“In societies like ours sex truly represents a second system of differentiation, completely independent of money; and as a system of differentiation it functions mercilessly. The effects of these tw...”

“The world outside had its own rules, and those rules were not human.”

“I was about as political as a bath towel.”

“They plot, they plot, sleeping or afoot they never let up.”

“You must become your enemy to truly understand him.”

“The police cannot be considered simply the custodians of the legal order, but must be seen as the guardians of the social order as well. That they defend it wearing blue uniforms rather than white ...”