It's A Terrible Poison, Writing.

I Am Not An Academic Who Happens To Have Written A Novel. I Am A Novelist Who Happens To Be Quite Good Academically.

A Surprising Number Of People - Including Many Students Of Literature - Will Tell You They Haven't Really Lived In A Book Since They Were Children.

Louis De Bernires Is In The Direct Line That Runs Through Dickens And Evelyn Waugh. . .he Has Only To Look Into His World, One Senses, For It To Rush Into Reality, Colours And Touch And Taste.

I Think There Are A Lot More Important Things Than Art In The World. But Not To Me.

The More Research You Do, The More At Ease You Are In The World You're Writing About. It Doesn't Encumber You, It Makes You Free.