“A good liar knows that the most efficient lie is always a truth that has had a key piece removed from it.”

“The most efficient way of rendering the poor harmless is to teach them to want to imitate the rich.”

“There are few reasons for telling the truth, but for lying the number is infinite.”

“Myths and legends, either about divinities or the formation and history of peoples and races, began to look like pictures on a jigsaw puzzle, slightly different from one another but always built with the same pieces, though not in the same order.”

“I was no longer able to hear the music that issues from a decent piece of prose.”

“The only way you can truly get to know an author is through the trail of ink he leaves behind him. The person you think you see is only an empty character: truth is always hidden in fiction.”

“The fact is that nothing is more difficult to believe than the truth; conversely, nothing seduces like the power of lies, the greater the better. It's only natural, and you will have to find the right balance. Having said that, let me add that this particular old woman hasn't been collecting only years; she has also collected stories, and none sadder or more terrible than the one she's about to tell you. You have been at the heart of this story without knowing it until today ...”