Art must take reality by surprise.

I shall live badly if I do not write, and I shall write badly if I do not live.

Writing takes a pen, a sheet of paper and, to start with, just the shadow of an idea.

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.

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

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.