[In 2007 in an interview with New York Times about being fired from the Deputy Editor of the Lisbon newspaper, "Diario De Noticias" because of his leftist views] Being fired was the best luck of my life. It made me stop and reflect. It was the birth of my life as a writer.
[About his name change to Saramago in a 2007 interview] My father wasn't very happy, but if that was his son's official name, well, then he had to take it.
