“Writing is making sense of life. You work your whole life and perhaps you've made sense of one small area.”

“Writing is making sense of life. You work your whole life and perhaps you've made sense of one small area.”

“The solitude of writing is also quite frightening. It's quite close to madness, one just disappears for a day and loses touch.”

“A truly living human being cannot remain neutral.”

“How did I find out? I was deceiving him.”

“I would be guilty only if I were innocent of working to destroy racism in my country.”

“Communists are the last optimists.”

“I am an African. I am white. I, in my humble way, and others in their much more brave way, have earned that right.”

“I'm an atheist. I wouldn't even call myself an agnostic. I am an atheist.”

“Death is really the mystery of life, isn't it?”

“You can't change a regime on the basis of compassion. There's got to be something harder.”

“I don't cry. Unfortunately, I seem rather short of tears, so my sorrows have to stay inside me.”