In my books you have to concentrate, but I work hard to make it that, when you do, the rewards are quite high.

Fictional characters are made of words, not flesh; they do not have free will, they do not exercise volition. They are easily born, and as easily killed off.

In order really to write one has to sink deep into the self and become lost there.

All my life I have lied. I lied to escape, I lied to be loved, I lied for placement and power; I lied to lie. It was a way of living; lies are life's almost-anagram.

The past beats inside me like a second heart.

If I was asked to say what was the greatest invention of human beings, I would say the sentence.

Everything we do is tinged with the knowledge that this may be the last time that we will do this, and that makes what we're doing incredibly sweet.

We carry the dead with us only until we die too, and then it is we who are borne along for a little while, and then our bearers in their turn drop, and so on into the unimaginable generations.

To take possession of a city of which you are not a native you must first fall in love there.

For memory, we use our imagination. We take a few strands of real time and carry them with us, then like an oyster we create a pearl around them.

A man is not much if he can't depend on himself, and nothing if others can't depend on him.

Even if it's a life in shackles, if you have somebody who accepts you for what you really are, how reassuring would that be?

It's amazing how once the mind is free of emotional pollution, logic and clarity emerge.

The sociological organization is alive, holistic, vibrant, energetic, responsive, fluid, creative and innovation.

When speculators have once entered Wall Street, they never leave it except in a pine box or a rosewood case, according to circumstances.

It's weird doing red carpets it's uncomfortable. But you can have a sense of humor about it.

Never be late. When you're late, what you're saying is that your time is more important than the other person's time. That's pretty egotistical.

Saving New York City from bankruptcy is like making love to a gorilla. You don't stop when you're tired; you stop when he's tired.

I hope we will come together as a nation and do whatever it takes to keep guns away from people who have no business with them.

Most of us aren't very graceful about not having our needs met, when and how we want them met.

I can fluently speak five languages: English, emoji, sexting, sarcasm and sass.