Shame, I do believe, is the most powerful emotion known to man; most discoveries and journeys of importance have been accomplished because of the ignominy that would be the result if the attempt was abandoned. — Iain Pears Copy Share Image
God forbid that I should ever suffer the shame of publishing a book for money, or of having one of my family so demean themselves. How can one tell who might read it? No worthy book has ever been written… — Iain Pears Copy Share Image
“Odd, don't you think? I have seen war, and invasions and riots. I have heard of massacres and brutalities beyond imagining, and I have… — Iain Pears Copy Share Image
“The next day was a dream of such perfection that I have never approached the like again. It was, of course, all illusion, but… — Iain Pears Copy Share Image
And a more foolish notion can scarcely be imagined, it being obvious that the reader is only informed of what the writer wishes him… — Iain Pears Copy Share Image
I learned that I' have to be detached if I was ever to achieve anything at all. — Iain Pears Copy Share Image
“And here was the moment. The end of it all, for civilization was merely another name for friendship, and friendship was coming to an… — Iain Pears Copy Share Image
When all this is over, people will try to blame the Germans alone, and the Germans will try to blame the Nazis alone, and… — Iain Pears Copy Share Image
“Considering he was neither priest nor scholar, the young man gave sensible, thoughtful replies -- the more so, perhaps, for being untrained, for he… — Iain Pears Copy Share Image
“Felix had gone to live in a lotus land of his imagination. Where what is desired is dreamed of as already happened, where obstacles… — Iain Pears Copy Share Image
In my small way, I preserved and catalogued, and dipped into the vast ocean of learning that awaited, knowing all the time that the… — Iain Pears Copy Share Image
“Aunt Gertie could not tell the difference between 1928 and now. Uncle Joseph was dead and alive. In other words, she grasped the essential… — Iain Pears Copy Share Image
“I cannot remember a single painting, although I do remember trying hard to be deeply impressed by them at the time.” — Iain Pears Copy Share Image
“It was, for the time being, an empty threat, and he must have sensed it also, for he laughed easily and with contempt. “You… — Iain Pears Copy Share Image
