Writing is a question of finding a certain rhythm. I compare it to the rhythms of jazz. Much of the time life is a sort of rhythmic progression of three characters. If one tells oneself that life is like that, one feels it less arbitrary.

Of course the illusion of art is to make one believe that great literature is very close to life, but exactly the opposite is true. Life is amorphous, literature is formal.

One can never speak enough of the virtues, the dangers, the power of shared laughter.

Every little girl knows about love. It is only her capacity to suffer because of it that increases.

Art must take reality by surprise.

The one thing I regret is that I will never have time to read all the books I want to read.

Jazz music is an intensified feeling of nonchalance.

After Proust, there are certain things that simply cannot be done again. He marks off for you the boundaries of your talent.

To jealousy, nothing is more frightful than laughter.

A dress makes no sense unless it inspires men to take it off of you.

It seems to me that there are two kinds of trickery: the "fronts" people assume before one another's eyes, and the "front" a writer puts on the face of reality.

Writing is a question of finding a certain rhythm. I compare it to the rhythms of jazz. Much of the time life is a sort of rhythmic progression of three characters. If one tells oneself that life is like that, one feels it less arbitrary.

All my life, I will continue obstinately to write about love, solitude and passion among the kind of people I know. The rest don't interest me.

Every time I see a film about Joan of Arc I'm convinced she'll get away with it. It's the only way to get through life.

For me writing is a question of finding a certain rhythm. I compare it to the rhythms of jazz.

I always believe things are going to work out.

I dreamt of being a writer once I started to read. I started to write 'Bonjour Tristesse' in bistros around the Sorbonne. I finished it, I sent it to editors. It was accepted.

I had a strong desire to write and some free time.

I've read Proust and Stendhal. That keeps you in your place.

I've tried very hard and I've never found any resemblance between the people I know and the people in my novels.

It seems to me that there are two kinds of trickery: the 'fronts' people assume before one another's eyes, and the 'front' a writer puts on the face of reality.

It would be bad form for me to describe people I don't know and don't understand.

Marriage? It's like asparagus eaten with vinaigrette or hollandaise, a matter of taste but of no importance.

Much of the time life is a sort of rhythmic progression of three characters. If one tells oneself that life is like that, one feels it less arbitrary.

You should celebrate the end of a love affair as they celebrate death in New Orleans, with songs, laughter, dancing and a lot of wine.

Illness is the opposite of freedom. It makes everything impossible.

A dress makes no sense unless it inspires men to want to take it off you.

It seems to me that there are two kinds of trickery the fronts people assume before one anothers eyes and the front a writer puts on the face of reality.

One partner is always more in love than the other.

Love lasts about seven years. That’s how long it takes for the cells of the body to totally replace themselves.

It isn't common sense that is paramount in this world, it's wishful thinking.

The blues is the foundation, and it's got to carry the top. The other part of the scene, the rock 'n' roll and the jazz, are the walls of the blues.

What makes my approach special is that I do different things. I do jazz, blues, country music and so forth. I do them all, like a good utility man.

In my view a jazz musician is a great musician.

Words are the children of reason and, therefore, can't explain it. They really can't translate feeling because they're not part of it. That's why it bugs me when people try to analyze jazz as an intellectual theorem. It's not. It's feeling.

So our ears got used to listening to jazz in the place that it was that the bass player could not play. No one really realized it and really addressed it until the bass players who could play their instrument came along and started doing something with it.

It is veneer, rouge, aestheticism, art museums, new theaters, etc. that make America impotent. The good things are football, kindness, and jazz bands.

Humans are imperfect. That's one of the reasons that classical and jazz are in trouble. We're on the quest for the perfect performance and every note has to be right. Man, every note is not right in life.

I hate Stanley Clark, but I have to admit he's playing Jazz whether I like it or not.

I have to plead basic ignorance of most new jazz artists here.

If one takes all the styles in jazz harmonically from the earliest beginnings to the latest experiments, he still has a rather limited scope when compared to the rest of music in the world.

I don't know who's 18 years old today that, 20 years hence, is going to be a jazz fan.

I don't like freedom jazz - I think it's void of roots and void of foundation.

Jazz needs the help. It's the more sophisticated music. All the other music is on the TV, but jazz isn't.

I listened to Billie Holiday a lot in order to learn to sing. She remains one of the extraordinary jazz singers. But my intent is to become my own voice, to be able to interpret these songs in my own way.

I think what we need is a more welcoming mode from the people who put on a hundred million country-western shows on television. How about a monthly jazz show?

Life is a lot like jazz... it's best when you improvise.

I still love the whole history of jazz. The old things sound better than ever.

A jazz musician is a juggler who uses harmonies instead of oranges.