“I do not distinguish between the construction of a book and that of a painting and I always proceed from the simple to the complex." - 1946”

“I do not know how to distinguish between waking life and a dream. Are we not always living the life that we imagine we are?”

“Books, and especially fiction, do not proceed from ideas. They are born from feelings ”

“Don't be fooled by the many books on complexity or by the many complex and arcane algorithms you find in this book or elsewhere. Although there are no textbooks on simplicity, simple systems work and complex don't.”

“Have more than one idea on the go at any one time. If it's a choice between writing a book and doing nothing I will always choose the latter. It's only if I have an idea for two books that I choose one rather than the other. I ­always have to feel that I'm bunking off from something.”

“I adore simple pleasures. They are the last refuge of the complex.”