Joe Dunthorne

I wanted to say all these things about how you just have to hold on to the good stuff and let the bad stuff go, but I couldn't. All I said was, 'You're going to be okay.'

People are always asking you if you're alright. 'Are you alright, Oliver?' 'You look pale, Oliver.' 'You're shaking, Oliver.' 'You've gone very quiet, Oliver.' 'You've got a little tear just there, Oliver.' 'Did you know your nose bleeds when you're asleep, Oliver?'

I'm going to have to do something about this soon, I thought, or there's going to be a terrible accident. I've got to take control.

There are moments when you feel free, but they are rare. You are not free when you are doing something you enjoy. You are free only when you are not doing anything at all, when you are not thinking about anything at all, when you are not even waiting for anything at all.

I'm going to be a genius novelist when I grow up, the voice said, and people are going to read my books and say, 'This is great literature.'

I think all the stuff I'm going to be remembered for will be my school years. I think that's what I'll be famous for.

Adults are always telling you that it's what's on the inside that counts. It's not true. It's what's on the outside that counts. If it wasn't, people would just walk around naked.

It's like when you're driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.

I'm not sure if I'm in love with her or if I want to be her. Maybe she's just a reflection of me in the future.

I didn't want to die. I just wanted to stop feeling like this.

There's nothing wrong with thinking about sex all the time. It's only when you start doing it that people get upset.

I thought about how you can say the same thing a thousand times to different people and it will mean something different to each of them.