“Being smart spoils a lot of things, doesn't it?”

“One quality in a person doesn't rule out any other quality. They can exist side by side, good and terrible. Socrates said it a lot better.”

“Baby needs a new pair of shoes,' he said. 'My baby doesn't need any shoes.”

“There is a common emotion we all recognize and have not yet named—the happy anticipation of being able to feel contempt.”

“And then, the last words Raspail ever said: 'I wonder why my parents didn't kill me before I was old enough to fool them.'The slender handle of the stiletto wiggled as Raspail's spiked heart tried to keep beating, and Dr Lecter said, 'Looks like a straw down a doodlebug hole, doesn't it?' but it was too late for Raspail to answer.”

“Writing novels is the hardest thing I've ever done, including digging irrigation ditches.”

“I'm doing one of three things: I'm writing. I'm staring out the window. Or I'm writhing on the floor.”