Tibor Fischer
It's true, some senior Hungarian writers are not known for their laughter. There is a strong Germanic influence - an attitude that if it's enjoyable it can't possibly be literature.Collection: Attitude
Miami, in many ways, is a quintessentially American city. The juxtaposition of showy wealth with dire pennilessness, the tussle of glitz and decay doesn't come any more marked than here.
You don't really have to go anywhere in particular in New York City to have a good time. In every part of town, there's always something going on. It helps to know people there, too, because everything changes so fast, and they will be able to point out what's hot this month.
New York City has fantastic restaurants and, unlike London, a lot of the best restaurants are relatively cheap.
Criticism is part of being in the marketplace. If you can't take a bit of criticism, you shouldn't bother publishing a book.
I don't take much notice of reviews now - obviously you'd like to have straight worship but you're never going to get that.
Most books reviews aren't very well-written. They tend to be more about the reviewer than the book.
As suburbs go, Bromley's not bad. But as David Bowie and Hanif Kureishi have observed, you do want to get out of there quickly.
I never could get a proper job.
It's what the reader thinks that counts.
As an author, I realise, you're on your own. You have to do everything you can to help The Book. If I make sure people know it's out there, they can make up their own minds whether they want to read it.
Ultimately, it's about the quality of the writing whatever style you are writing.
I went to a British Council event a while back and there were lots of German professors of literature. About half of them were convinced I had a German sense of humour and the other half were sure it was British. They are probably still arguing about it now.
Because my name is Hungarian, everyone assumed I knew about Hungary. I didn't. They also assumed that if you knew about Hungary, you also knew about the rest of Eastern Europe.
Travelling is difficult, and writers tend to want to stay at home and do their work.
One of the reasons why I don't write the same kind of book again and again is that I get bored very easily, so I like to make things interesting for myself.
I'm not the most prolific writer in the world, and, sadly, writing a novel involves a lot of effort.
There's prejudice and poverty in Hungary as there is in every country.
Most Hungarians know what it was to live in a dictatorship; some are old enough to have known both fascism and communism. No one wants to go back to that.
Usually, when you make a decision in life, unless you have access to parallel universes, you can't truly judge how right that decision was.
Some years ago, I fired my agent, Andrew Wylie, alias The Jackal. I want to stress this wasn't an amicable parting of the ways or a hankering on my part for fresh representation. I fired him because his agency wasn't doing enough for me.
No one wants a masterpiece knocking around when your own book is looking for attention.
The way British publishing works is that you go from not being published no matter how good you are, to being published no matter how bad you are.
A public role endures for the literary high-command, as sages and seers, speaking out on social and political issues.
Outside their country, Hungarian directors have had, from the critics at least, a friendly reception.
When I think of Hungarian films, I think of despair and bleakness, and what's more, despair and bleakness of indefensible duration.
You can't really win as a Booker judge. If you choose the obvious names, the unit-shifters, you're accused of being timid and unimaginative; if you choose the unfamous, you're labelled willful and perverse.
I always consider every place worth exploring once- just in case there's a thirty foot flaming sign divulging the secret of life, that no one has told me about.Collection: Feet
The impossible lives next door to the possible; people ring its door bell by accident all the time.Collection: Doors
Stay cool, and wait for opportunity.Collection: Opportunity
Few pleasures are greater than knowing you can close your door, ignore the world and create your own.Collection: Doors
You've got to try everything once, except those things you don't like, or that involve a lot of effort and getting up early.Collection: Up Early
Once you've been backstage at a theater, the theater is never the same for you. Once you've noticed the crack in the vase, the vase is never the same for. Once you've seen a friend do something appalling, the friendship is never the same. That does not mean you won't go to the theater, or keep the vase or the friend. You can choose.Collection: Mean
The greatest danger of being gifted, is that you may never learn how to make an effort.Collection: Effort
No amount of intelligence can save you from stupidity.Collection: Stupidity
Like most men, I'm a life support system for a phallus.Collection: Men
Miami, in many ways, is a quintessentially American city. The juxtaposition of showy wealth with dire pennilessness, the tussle of glitz and decay doesnt come any more marked than here.Collection: Cities
Opening the fridge door, I found a rat eating the cheese. My dealings with rodents, particularly those tagged verminous, have been few, but generally the pattern has been one of man, the boss, the caretaker of creation, the namer, appearing and the lower orders hitting the road.Collection: Men
One of my proudest achievements is that when an authoritative book about Hungarian literature came out about a decade ago, there was a little article about me which said I was a Hungarian writer but pretending not to be. Bearing in mind I can hardly write a cheque in Hungarian, I was delighted to be included in the pantheon of Hungarian writers.Collection: Book
Why is erasing desire seen as so important? If the subjugation of the self is the point of the self what's the point in having a self? It's like someone handing you a leaflet which says throw this leaflet away.Collection: Self
Even those with unspendable fortunes only have one mind, one mouth, two ears, two eyes and one pleasure station. There's only so much fun you can take.Collection: Fun