I think the "crime novel" has replaced the sociological novel of the 1930s. I think the progenitor of that tradition is James M. Cain, who in my view is the most neglected writer in American literature. — James Lee Burke Copy Share Image
But the participants [in war] never forgot the details of their experience, and like the Wandering Jew, they were condemned to remain their own… — James Lee Burke Copy Share Image
“A wet cigarette butt clung to my cheek like a mashed cockroach. I could smell whiskey and beer in my clothes and Gable’s blood… — James Lee Burke Copy Share Image
“And I suppose that what I have learned is a lesson that the years, or self-concern, had begun to hide from me, namely, that the bravest and most loyal and loving people in the world seldom have heroic physical characteristics or the auras of saints. In fact, their faces are like those of people whom you might randomly pull out… — James Lee Burke Copy Share
“The Homeric Epic does not have to be discovered inside a book; it begins just west of Fort Worth and extends all the way… — James Lee Burke Copy Share Image
“The best moments in life are not the kind many historians record.” — James Lee Burke Copy Share Image
“I would almost forget about Ida Durbin. But a sin of omission, if indeed that's what it was, can be like the rusty head… — James Lee Burke Copy Share Image
The best thing about being a best-selling writer is being a best-selling writer. More seriously, today I can write full time and pay the… — James Lee Burke Copy Share Image
If there is any human tragedy, there is only one, and it occurs when we forget who we are and remain silent while a… — James Lee Burke Copy Share Image
I sometimes subscribe to the belief that all historical events occur simultaneously, like a dream in the mind of God. Perhaps it is only man who views time sequentially and tries to impose a solar calendar upon it. What if other people, both dead and unborn, are living out their lives in the same space we occupy, without our knowledge… — James Lee Burke Copy Share
“When a man molests a woman or girl, he steals her identity. You don't know who you are anymore. You don't have an address… — James Lee Burke Copy Share Image
![“But the participants [in war] never forgot the details of their experience, and like the Wandering Jew, they were condemned to remain their own history books, each containing a story they could not pass on to others and from which no one would learn anything of value.” quote by James Lee Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/320/james-lee-burke-2289_book_but-the-participants-in-war-never-forgot_31146.jpg)
