--- title: "25 Simon Mawer Quotes - Famous Teacher (The Fall)" description: "English author. Browse 25 Simon Mawer quotes." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b058/author-simon-mawer-23457.jpg" --- ![Portrait of Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b058/author-simon-mawer-23457.jpg) # Simon Mawer (1948–2025) Teacher United Kingdom **25** quotes in **203** categories Rate this collection: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet Simon Mawer was a teacher from the United Kingdom, best known for *The Fall*. ## Quick Facts About Simon Mawer Born January 1, 1948 Died February 12, 2025 Nationality United Kingdom Profession Teacher Notable works The Fall Known for The Glass Room, The Girl Who Fell from the Sky ## About Simon Mawer Simon Mawer was a British author who lived in Italy. ## Awards & Honors Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction ## Quotes by Simon Mawer > [Sin is absence of God. Nothing more, nothing less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/sin-is-absence-of-god-nothing-more-nothing-less/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) [Absence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a5/simon-mawer-23457_absence_sin-is-absence-of-god-nothing-more-nothi_1898455.png) > [Faith is the enemy of discovery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/faith-is-the-enemy-of-discovery/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) [Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cd/simon-mawer-23457_discovery_faith-is-the-enemy-of-discovery-2815785_2815785.png) > [I find it very easy to be alone. I'm a writer, for heaven's sakes!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/i-find-it-very-easy-to-be-alone-i-m-a-writer-for-heaven-s-sakes/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) [Alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alone/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2c/simon-mawer-23457_alone_i-find-it-very-easy-to-be-alone-i-m-a-wr_2648018.png) > [You can tell nothing from a man's appearance, nothing except the depths of your own prejudice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/you-can-tell-nothing-from-a-man-s-appearance-nothing-except-the/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf6/simon-mawer-23457_appearance_you-can-tell-nothing-from-a-man-s-appear_119620.png) > [Most of those people who saw themselves as literary types at university became bank managers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/most-of-those-people-who-saw-themselves-as-literary-types-at/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/135/simon-mawer-23457_bank_most-of-those-people-who-saw-themselves_1623632.png) > [If God resides anywhere ... surely he shelters behind barricades of pure chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/if-god-resides-anywhere-surely-he-shelters-behind-barricades-of-pure/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f6/simon-mawer-23457_barricades_if-god-resides-anywhere-surely-he-shelte_2649516.png) > [The speed of the human mind is remarkable. So is its inability to face the obvious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/the-speed-of-the-human-mind-is-remarkable-so-is-its-inability-to-face/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) [Denial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/denial/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f48/simon-mawer-23457_denial_the-speed-of-the-human-mind-is-remarkabl_2416453.png) > [“Numbers have no hidden meanings, you say. But it is the hidden meanings in words that make them so wonderful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/numbers-have-no-hidden-meanings-you-say-but-it-is-the-hidden-meanings/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) [Mathematics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/835/simon-mawer-23457_mathematics_numbers-have-no-hidden-meanings-you-say_1631704.png) > [Only occasionally do I read new fiction. Most of my reading is heavily dictated by what I'm writing at the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/only-occasionally-do-i-read-new-fiction-most-of-my-reading-is-heavily/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33a/simon-mawer-23457_books_only-occasionally-do-i-read-new-fiction_1058475.png) > [Sometimes I think that novelists suffer from P.C.S.: Perpetual Childhood Syndrome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/sometimes-i-think-that-novelists-suffer-from-p-c-s-perpetual/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) [Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/496/simon-mawer-23457_childhood_sometimes-i-think-that-novelists-suffer_483909.png) > [When writing fiction, you only have to know enough to be convincing on the page. I mean really convincing, of course -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/when-writing-fiction-you-only-have-to-know-enough-to-be-convincing-on/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) [Academic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academic/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f6/simon-mawer-23457_academic_when-writing-fiction-you-only-have-to-kn_943040.jpg) > [One of the reasons I wrote 'The Fall' is that climbing's more than a sport, it's a way of life. When you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/one-of-the-reasons-i-wrote-the-fall-is-that-climbing-s-more-than-a/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71a/simon-mawer-23457_about_one-of-the-reasons-i-wrote-the-fall-is-t_2795924.jpg) > [“I don't believe you.' 'That doesn't make any difference. Whether you believe it or not doesn't change the facts. It doesn't depend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/i-don-t-believe-you-that-doesn-t-make-any-difference-whether-you/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f44/simon-mawer-23457_belief_i-don-t-believe-you-that-doesn-t-make-an_2075880.png) > [I was a boarding school product from the age of eight, and I hated it. Though I do have a theory that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/i-was-a-boarding-school-product-from-the-age-of-eight-and-i-hated-it/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/667/simon-mawer-23457_age_i-was-a-boarding-school-product-from-the_41691.png) > [“It wasn’t the way that Viktor and Katalin looked at each other, it was the way they didn’t look. It wasn’t the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/it-wasn-t-the-way-that-viktor-and-katalin-looked-at-each-other-it-was/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/029/simon-mawer-23457_silences_it-wasn-t-the-way-that-viktor-and-katali_1721806.png) > [“It is difficult to reconstruct an emotion. At times it is difficult even to admit to one. I have practiced long and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/it-is-difficult-to-reconstruct-an-emotion-at-times-it-is-difficult/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08a/simon-mawer-23457_denying_it-is-difficult-to-reconstruct-an-emotio_2030967.png) > [“She knows what it is to be sad and miserable, but those emotions are almost enjoyable. They throw moments of happiness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/she-knows-what-it-is-to-be-sad-and-miserable-but-those-emotions-are/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdd/simon-mawer-23457_emotion_she-knows-what-it-is-to-be-sad-and-miser_2072152.png) > [“in Czech we have an expression, propadnout lásce, to fall in love. You can’t do that in German, can you? In German…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/in-czech-we-have-an-expression-propadnout-l-sce-to-fall-in-love-you/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/875/simon-mawer-23457_czech_in-czech-we-have-an-expression-propadnou_2721743.png) > [When you look around now we have the war on terror. Yes, okay, the World Trade Center was sort of like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/when-you-look-around-now-we-have-the-war-on-terror-yes-okay-the-world/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e19/simon-mawer-23457_israel_when-you-look-around-now-we-have-the-war_764411.png) > [Grief and guilt. A powerful combination. Guilt like a liquid, a thin liquor, seeping everywhere, informing everything, saturating the whole-corrosive, like seawater,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/grief-and-guilt-a-powerful-combination-guilt-like-a-liquid-a-thin/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28b/simon-mawer-23457_combination_grief-and-guilt-a-powerful-combination-g_815826.jpg) > [“Regulations. The city, the country, probably the whole world (having travelled little, Tomáš is unsure about the matter) is pinned down by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/regulations-the-city-the-country-probably-the-whole-world-having/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f9/simon-mawer-23457_regulations_regulations-the-city-the-country-probabl_2269284.png) > [“I'm fond of her." Oh yeah? Fond are you? I've heard of fond. I expect old erection here" - she pointed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/i-m-fond-of-her-oh-yeah-fond-are-you-i-ve-heard-of-fond-i-expect-old/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b76/simon-mawer-23457_fond_i-m-fond-of-her-oh-yeah-fond-are-you-i-v_1458400.png) > [Guernsey itself was overcrowded, but its cliffs were utterly empty. I spent a wonderful year with a friend, climbing them. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/guernsey-itself-was-overcrowded-but-its-cliffs-were-utterly-empty-i/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a9/simon-mawer-23457_busy_guernsey-itself-was-overcrowded-but-its_57161.png) > [All the answers you may wish for lie within faith, but it demands a complete and incontinent surrender, an immersion as total…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/all-the-answers-you-may-wish-for-lie-within-faith-but-it-demands-a/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44c/simon-mawer-23457_answers_all-the-answers-you-may-wish-for-lie-wit_3184777.jpg) > [Pundits always have something to write about; the novelist just has a blank screen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/pundits-always-have-something-to-write-about-the-novelist-just-has-a/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a38/simon-mawer-23457_about_pundits-always-have-something-to-write-a_1938341.png) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/#itemlist", "name": "Simon Mawer Quotes", "numberOfItems": 25, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Sin is absence of God. 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Most of my reading is heavily dictated by what I'm writing at the time.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Simon Mawer" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/only-occasionally-do-i-read-new-fiction-most-of-my-reading-is-heavily/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33a/simon-mawer-23457_books_only-occasionally-do-i-read-new-fiction_1058475.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33a/simon-mawer-23457_books_only-occasionally-do-i-read-new-fiction_1058475.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33a/simon-mawer-23457_books_only-occasionally-do-i-read-new-fiction_1058475.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Only occasionally do I read new fiction. 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In…” — Simon Mawer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 19, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When you look around now we have the war on terror. Yes, okay, the World Trade Center was sort of like a single act of war, but nothing else has been. We've turned it into war. We're talking about a bunch of semi-lunatic, fanatic criminals. 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I spent a wonderful year with a friend…” — Simon Mawer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 24, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "All the answers you may wish for lie within faith, but it demands a complete and incontinent surrender, an immersion as total as any baptism. Indeed baptism is a kind of enactment of the surrender: you bathe in faith, you swim in it, you live by it, surrounded by it, buoyed up by it, engulfed by it. 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