Books everywhere. On the shelves and on the small space above the rows of books and all along the floor and under chairs, books that I have read, books that I have not read.

It is increasingly clear that the fate of the universe will come to depend more and more on individuals as the bungling of bureaucracy permeates every corner of our existence.

History is said to be written by the victors. Fiction, by contrast, is largely the work of injured bystanders.

When anyone asks me about the Irish character, I say look at the trees. Maimed, stark and misshapen, but ferociously tenacious.

The vote means nothing to women. We should be armed.

Ordinary life bypassed me, but I also bypassed it. It couldn't have been any other way.Conventional life and conventional people are not for me.

Writing is like carrying a fetus.

never forget this moment, the hum of the bee, the saffron threads of the flower, the drawn blinds, nature's assiduousness and human cruelty.

... a country encapsulates our childhood and those lanes, byres, fields, flowers, insects, suns, moons and stars are forever reoccurring.

Promiscuity is the death of love.

I'm an Irish Catholic and I have a long iceberg of guilt.

Despite any warnings, she continued to move towards the flames he had ignited within her. Her limbs tingled as the fire spread, each touch of Alex's hands and lips caused a wave of cinders.

Beauty - the adjustment of all parts proportionately so that one cannot add or subtract or change without impairing the harmony of the whole.

The bad news was that the yard contained a dog. A very, very large dog, wide and hairy, like a cross between a rottweiler and a Goodyear blimp.

Just because it turned out bad, doesn’t mean it wasn’t meant.

Cruel men cry easily at the cinema.

Well, I'm backed by a very rich Jew. Yeah!! Yes, I am! His Name is Jesus. I'm backed by Him.

We are eternal. All this pain is an illusion.

The courts are an easy scapegoat because at a time when everything has to boiled down to easy slogans, we speak in subtleties.

By the time dessert arrives I am usually so drunk, I can't remember what I'm serving.

The rule for traveling abroad is to take our common sense with us, and leave our prejudices behind.