I think that books for young people should have serious and important themes, they shouldn't be trivial. So the books I write,… — John Boyne Copy Share Image
I move between the two: I write an adult novel, and then I write a children's book. I quite enjoy that. It's… — John Boyne Copy Share Image
Bruno opened his eyes in wonder at the things he saw. In his imagination he had tough that all the huts were… — John Boyne Copy Share Image
“I think perhaps the adults we become are formed in childhood and there's no way around it.” — John Boyne Copy Share Image
“It was important to look confident, he realized that very early on. After all, there was a terrible tendency among adults to… — John Boyne Copy Share Image
I can remember being eight, and I like writing about that age of innocence when children still have a sense of wonder. — John Boyne Copy Share Image
Children's book writers tend to feel quite superior, and adult writers tend to feel they wouldn't know how to write a children's… — John Boyne Copy Share Image
He looked the boy up and down as if he had never seen a child before and wasn't quite sure what he… — John Boyne Copy Share Image
“I may not have known much about pregnancies but I knew that you couldn’t have a son or a daughter without actually… — John Boyne Copy Share Image
I started reading Dickens when I was about 12, and I particularly liked all of the orphan books. I always liked books… — John Boyne Copy Share Image
“No woman will ever take care of my children but me, she said. I will not allow it, do you understand? And… — John Boyne Copy Share Image
“In his imagination he had thought that all the huts were full of happy families, some of whom sat outside on rocking… — John Boyne Copy Share Image
I like the idea of standalone novels. I always found with series of books, it's something that publishers love obviously because they… — John Boyne Copy Share Image
“When I make mistakes I get punished,' insisted Bruno, irritated by the fact that the rules that always applied to children never… — John Boyne Copy Share Image
I was a very quiet child, quite introverted, really. Independent, yes; I didn't need a lot of supervision. Less so than I… — John Boyne Copy Share Image
I don't change the language for children books. I don't make the language simpler. I use words that they might have to… — John Boyne Copy Share Image
I am frustrated by celebrities who decide to write children's books because they think it's easy. That drives me crazy. It's frustrating… — John Boyne Copy Share Image
I like reading books about kids where there weren't really many adults, where they didn't need an adult to come and solve… — John Boyne Copy Share Image
With the adult ones, I feel I need to get as deep inside the psychology of a character as I can, and… — John Boyne Copy Share Image
“Bruno was jealous, he had to wear stupid pants en shoes while the boys at the other side of the fence were wearing nice… — John Boyne Copy Share Image
We all are [normal]. Their idea of normal just happens to be different to some other people's idea of normal. But this is the… — John Boyne Copy Share Image
“Maybe there were no villains in my mother’s story at all. Just men and women, trying to do their best by each other. And… — John Boyne Copy Share Image
I think that books for young people should have serious and important themes, they shouldn't be trivial. So the books I write, they would… — John Boyne Copy Share Image
Just because a man glances up at the sky at night does not make him an astronomer, you know. — John Boyne Copy Share Image
“Every man is afraid of women as far as I can see,” said Julian, displaying an understanding of the universe far beyond his years.… — John Boyne Copy Share Image
I don't buy into the idea that an Irish writer should write about Ireland, or a gay writer should write about being gay. But… — John Boyne Copy Share Image
“For a moment he considered running across the platform to tell people about the empty seats in the carriage, but he decided not to… — John Boyne Copy Share Image
I move between the two: I write an adult novel, and then I write a children's book. I quite enjoy that. It's a nice… — John Boyne Copy Share Image
“Pavel is not a doctor any more, Bruno' said Maria quietly. 'But he was. In another life. Before he came here” — John Boyne Copy Share Image