I don't think you can tell the objective truth about a person. That's why people write novels.

I think one of the very frightening things about the regime of the National Socialists is that it made people happy.

When I think about atheist friends, including my father, they seem to me like people who have no ear for music, or who have never been in love.

I think that if you can't be loyal to the Church, it's best to get out.

You should not do an autobiography if you want to tell the truth. There are a lot of things I know about people. If I can't say something good about a person, I don't want to say anything. And since I don't want to say anything bad, I won't write a book.

Iris Murdoch did influence my early novels very much, and influence is never entirely good.