"I love mankind, he said, "but I find to my amazement that the more I love mankind as a whole, the less I love man in particular.”

• the brothers karamazov

"will we walk all night through solitary streets? the trees add shade to shade, lights out in the houses, we'll both be lonely."

• a supermarket in california

"Christ lived on cheeseburgers and Cokes."

• franny and zooey

"Freedom of the intellect means the freedom to report what one has seen, heard, and felt, and not to be obliged to fabricate imaginary facts and feelings."

• books v. cigarettes

"'But who's fighting for the decent folk? There's no patriotism, that's what it is. And no matriotism either.' The warrant officer on Yossarian's left was unimpressed. 'Who gives a shit?' he asked tiredly, and turned over his side to go to sleep."

• catch 22

"The mistake you make, is thinking one can live in a corrupt society without being corrupt oneself. After all, what do you achieve by refusing to make money? You're trying to behave as though one could stand right outside our economic system. But one can't. One's got to change the system, or one changes nothing."

• keep the aspidistra flying

"Saints should always be judged guilty until they are proved innocent."

• all art is propaganda: critical essays

"It doesn't matter what people call you unless they call you pigeon pie and eat you up."

• brideshead revisited

"The Texan turned out to be good-natured, generous and likable. In three days no one could stand him."

• catch 22