“... while madness in individuals is relatively rare, it is virtually a prerequisite for a certain sort of political leader.”

“Society is the picnic certain individuals leave early, the party they fail to enjoy, the musical comedy they find not worth the price of admission.”

“That glass sliver in the heart. Amid a fluttery-delicious Benzedrine rush, virtually every remark made to you is freighted with destiny, a sweet-painful stab in the heart. And Benzedrine and champagne, what a combination! The Blond Actress was only just discovering what everybody else in Hollywood knew.”

“At such rare times you can feel the electrically charged neurons of the prefrontal brain realigning themselves like iron fillings drawn by a magnet. ”

“Erotic: meaning you're "desired."For madness is seductive, sexy. Female madness.So long as the female is reasonably young and attractive.”

“for politics is in its essence as Adams had said the 'systematic organiztion of hatred': either you were organized or you were not”

“The novel is perhaps the highest art form because it so closely resembles life: it is about human relationships. It's technique, page by page, resembles our technique of living day by day--a way of relating.”