Does history repeat itself, the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce? No, that's too grand, too considered a process. History just burps, and we taste again that raw-onion sandwich it swallowed centuries ago.
[2011, on the Booker Prize] The best way to stay sane is to treat it as if it's posh bingo. That is ... until you win it, when you realize that the judges are the wisest heads in literary Christendom.