"They ain’t been here long ’nough. They just barely human. Maybe not even. They suck up the world, don’t taste it."

"The intimacy of her mother’s hands and the warmth of the water lulled the Girl into a trance of sensuality she never …"

"Only frustrated people smoke too much and only lonely people are frustrated."

"I can never get a zipper to close."

"I didn't think I'd be true to a man again as long as I lived..."

"There were very few radio stations that played [Squallor's songs], yet they were a resounding success."

"[On the television program Non è la Rai, created with Irene Ghergo and of which he was also the director] My program …"

"Oh it's terrifying, yeah: you come up to publication day and you suddenly realise 'right that's it, it's out in the w…"

"...all those other 'How To' books were just about people that knew about this thing. This is different, because he's …"

"Hers was the first voice like hers that I had discovered in literature before. I was good at English . . . I had neve…"