"People's ability to forget what they do not want to know, to overlook what is before their eyes, was seldom put to the test better than in Germany at that time."

"The moral backbone of literature is about that whole question of memory. To my mind it seems clear that those who have no memory have the much greater chance to lead happy lives."

"A subject which at first glance seems quite removed from the undeclared concern of the book can encapsulate that concern."

"It is a sore point, because you do have advantages if you have access to more than one language. You also have problems, because on bad days you don't trust yourself, either in your first or your second language, and so you feel like a complete halfwit."