True literature should rouse the reader, unsettle him, change his view of the world, give him a resolute push over the cliff of self-knowledge

The most terrifying thing is sometimes not what we see, but rather what we are forced to imagine.

Writers perform an extremely important role: they make others dream, those who are unable to dream for themselves. And everyone needs to dream. Could there be any more important job in life than that?

The paths that we choose don't always take us where we want to go. Sometimes they take us where we need to go.

Why had his mother gone to the trouble of bringing him into the world if the most exciting moment in his life was having been made lame by a bayonet?

...the wrath of God pales beside that of man.

Striving to achieve a dream is never a waste of time.

I'm convinced the true history of our time isn't what we read in newspapers or books...True history is almost invisible. It flows like an underground spring. It takes place in the shadows, and in silence, George. And only a chosen few know what that history is.

Time is a river sweeping away all that is born towards the darkest shore.

...there are so many books left to read. For that reason alone it is worth going on living. Books make me happy, the help me escape from reality.

I don't think traveling back in time on an empty stomach is a good idea.