Writing is like walking in a deserted street. Out of the dust in the street you make a mud pie. — John le Carre Copy Share Image
Writers are two-home men - they want a place outside and a place within. — John le Carre Copy Share Image
There is no such thing as a secure writer: every novel is an impossible mountain. — John le Carre Copy Share Image
I began writing when I was still in the British Foreign Service, and it was then understood that even if you wrote… — John le Carre Copy Share Image
I think that all writers feel alienated. ... I know that I do. ... I still feel, as I think most creative… — John le Carre Copy Share Image
I grew up in a completely bookless household. It was my father's boast that he had never read a book from end… — John le Carre Copy Share Image
A good writer is an expert on nothing except himself. And on that subject, if he is wise, he holds his tongue. — John le Carre Copy Share Image
[My novels] introduce levels of intelligence ... moral doubt [and] self-doubt, which may not pertain [to real-world espionage]. — John le Carre Copy Share Image
But I think the real tension lies in the relationship between what you might call the pursuer and his quarry, whether it's… — John le Carre Copy Share Image
Each my book feels like my last book. And then I think, like a dedicated alcoholic, that one more won't do me… — John le Carre Copy Share Image
Well, certainly I don't think that there are very many good writers who don't live without a sense of tension. If they… — John le Carre Copy Share Image
“A good writer is an expert on nothing except himself. And on that subject, if he is wise, he holds his tongue.… — John le Carré Copy Share Image
I grew up in a completely bookless household. It was my father's boast that he had never read a book from end… — John le Carre Copy Share Image
It's part of a writer's profession, as it's part of a spy's profession, to prey on the community to which he's attached,… — John le Carre Copy Share Image
If I had to put a name to it, I would wish that all my books were entertainments. I think the first… — John le Carre Copy Share Image
When it's going well [writing] goes terribly fast. It isn't at all surprising to write a chapter in a day, which for… — John le Carre Copy Share Image
I don't think that there are very many good writers who don't live without a sense of tension. If they haven't got… — John le Carre Copy Share Image
I think that most of my books are part of some process of self-education, often about the places I go to. Most… — John le Carre Copy Share Image
The creation of George Smiley, the retired spy recalled to hunt for just such a high-ranking mole in 'Tinker, Tailor,' was extremely personal. I… — John le Carre Copy Share Image
During the Cold War, we lived in coded times when it wasn't easy and there were shades of grey and ambiguity. — John le Carre Copy Share Image
“You're history, Donohue. You think countries run the fucking world! Go back to fucking Sunday school. It's 'God save our multinational' they're singing these… — John le Carré Copy Share Image
When you're my age and you see a story, you better go for it pretty quickly. I'd just like to get a few more… — John le Carre Copy Share Image
The trouble is, when professional spies go out of their way to make a definitive statement about one of their own, the public tends… — John le Carre Copy Share Image
Ideologies have no heart of their own. They're the whores and angels of our striving selves. — John le Carre Copy Share Image
“Pain observed is journalistic pain. It's diplomatic pain. It's television pain, over as soon as you switch off your beastly set.” — John le Carré Copy Share Image
The greatest threat to mankind comes from the renunciation of individual scruple in favor of institutional denominators. . . . Real heroism lies, as… — John le Carre Copy Share Image
“and the wood smoke will roll out of the fireplace on to the carpet we paid too much for on that rainy afternoon in… — John le Carré Copy Share Image
“Middle children weep longer than their brothers and sisters. Over her mother’s shoulder, stilling her pains and her injured pride, Jackie Lacon watched the… — John le Carré Copy Share Image
![“[My novels] introduce levels of intelligence ... moral doubt [and] self-doubt, which may not pertain [to real-world espionage].” quote by John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/229/john-le-carre-651_books_my-novels-introduce-levels-of-intelligen_2477512.jpg)
![“When it's going well [writing] goes terribly fast. It isn't at all surprising to write a chapter in a day, which for me is about twenty-two pages. When it's going badly, it isn't really going badly; it's just the beginning.” quote by John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/917/john-le-carre-651_chapters_when-it-s-going-well-writing-goes-terrib_601245.jpg)
