Anthony Powell

"The whole idea of interviews is in itself absurd – one cannot answer deep questions about what ones life was like – one writes novels about it."

"Parents – especially step-parents – are sometimes a bit of a disappointment to their children. They dont fufill the promise of their early years."

"Self-love seems so often unrequited."

"He fell in love with himself at first sight and it is a passion to which he has always remained faithful."

"People think because a novels invented, it isnt true. Exactly the reverse is the case. Because a novels invented, it is true. Biography and memoirs can never be wholly true, since they cant include every conceivable circumstance of what happened. The novel can do that. The novelist himself lays it down. His decision is binding."

"[T]here is no greater sign of innate misery than a love of teasing."

"Growing olds like being increasingly penalized for a crime you havent committed."