“There is no creation without tradition; the 'new' is an inflection on a preceding form; novelty is always a variation on the past.”

“Alessandra approached the geniuses of the past to give them life with her attention, which was the form her affection took: paying attention.”

“Originality' is the sickness of modernity that wishes to see itself as something new, always new, in order continually to witness its own birth. In doing so, modernity is that fashionable illusion which only speaks to death”

“I live through risk. Without risk there is no art. You should always be on the edge of a cliff about to fall downand break your neck.”

“The novel is the privileged vehicle of two ways of being: narrative and freedom: to be new (novel) in a speech open to all, and to be free in a speech that never concludes.”

“She begins to feel that the reality show is the university she never attended. Vicarious reality. Emotion without a value-added tax. Movement without danger. Alma finds her reality. She no longer has a reason to put herself at risk and go out into the hostile, degrading world.”

“I discovered very quickly that criticism is a form of optimism, and that when you are silent about the shortcomings of your society, you're very pessimistic about that society. And it's only when you speak truthfully about it that you show your faith in that society.”