“All men are born free: just not for long.”
― John le Carré, quote from A Murder of Quality
“It was from us they learnt the secret of life: that we grow old without growing wise. They realized that nothing happened when we grew up: no blinding light on the road to Damascus, no sudden feeling of maturity.”
― John le Carré, quote from A Murder of Quality
“I used to think it was clever to confuse comedy with tragedy. Now i wish i could distinguish them.”
― John le Carré, quote from A Murder of Quality
“He hated to be alone, but people bored him. Being alone was like being tired, but unable to sleep.”
― John le Carré, quote from A Murder of Quality
“Smiley himself was one of those solitaires who seem to have come into the world fully educated at the age of eighteen. Obscurity was his nature, as well as his profession. The byways of espionage are not populated by the brash and colourful adventurers of fiction. A man who, like Smiley, has lived and worked for years among his country's enemies learns only one prayer: that he may never, never be noticed. Assimilation is his highest aim, he learns to love the crowds who pass him in the street without a glance; he clings to them for his anonimity and his safety. His fear makes him servile - he could embrace the shoppers who jostle him in their impatience, and force him from the pavement. He could adore the officials, the police, the bus conductors, for the terse indifference of their attitudes. (ch. 9)”
― John le Carré, quote from A Murder of Quality
“Urgent equals ephemeral, and ephemeral equals unimportant.”
― John le Carré, quote from A Murder of Quality
“Only adults had nervous breakdowns in those days, so the methods of survival for boys who refused to join the system were animal cunning, “internal immigration” as the Germans call it, or simply getting the hell out. I practised the first two, then opted for the third and took myself to Switzerland.”
― John le Carré, quote from A Murder of Quality
“Smiley was not opposed to social distinctions but he liked to make his own.”
― John le Carré, quote from A Murder of Quality
“It was like feeding a small child. You couldn't over load the spoon.”
― John le Carré, quote from A Murder of Quality
“Shane was horrid to her, always sneering at her because she was honest and simple about the things she liked. Shane hated Stella—I think it was because Stella didn’t want to be a lady of quality. She was quite happy to be herself. That’s what really worried Shane. Shane likes people to compete so that she can make fools of them.”
― John le Carré, quote from A Murder of Quality
“He hated to be alone, but people bored him.”
― John le Carré, quote from A Murder of Quality
“There was a fellow called Smiley married Ann Sercomb, Lord Sawley’s cousin. Damned pretty girl, Ann was, and went and married this fellow. Some funny little beggar in the Civil Service with an OBE and a gold watch. Sawley was damned annoyed.”
― John le Carré, quote from A Murder of Quality
“right…What do you do for a living, Smiley?” “After the war I was at Oxford for a bit. Teaching and research. I’m in London now.” “One of those clever coves, eh?”
― John le Carré, quote from A Murder of Quality
“He hated to be alone, but people bored him. Being alone was like being tired, but unable”
― John le Carré, quote from A Murder of Quality
John le Carré
Born place: in Poole, Dorset, England, The United Kingdom
Born date October 19, 1931
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“So this is hell. I'd never have believed it. You remember all we were told about the torture-chambers, the fire and brimstone, the "burning marl." Old wives' tales! There's no need for red-hot pokers. Hell is—other people!”
― Jean-Paul Sartre, quote from No Exit
“They are a family of cows—so humble and honest.”
― Pawan Mishra, quote from Coinman: An Untold Conspiracy
“How happy we would be if we could find the treasure of which the Gospel speaks; all else would be as nothing. As it is boundless, the more you search for it the greater the riches you will find; let us search unceasingly and let us not stop until we have found it.”
― Brother Lawrence, quote from The Practice of the Presence of God
“Clearly," Jason said, "you are not doing nothing. You are most definitely doing something. What it looks like you're doing is pouring packets of sugar on Lauren Moffat's head."
Shhh," I said. "It's snowing. But only on Lauren." I shook more sugar out of the packets. "'Merry Christmas, Mr. Potter,'" I called softly down to Lauren in my best Jimmy Stewart imitation. "'Merry Christmas, you old building and Loan.'"
Jason started cracking up, and I had to hush him as Becca saw my sugar supply running low and hastened to hand me more packets.
Stop laughing so loud," I said to Jason. "You'll spoil this beautiful moment for them." I sprinkled more sugar over the side of the balcony. "'Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.”
― Meg Cabot, quote from How to Be Popular
“-“I remember my father telling me about England’s redrawing of India’s boundaries when it became independent. They wanted to separate the Hindu from the Muslim, but they used outdated maps. Twelve million people had to relocate because the Brits screwed it up so badly. And a half million people died during the resulting chaos. And before that, Iraq was unilaterally cobbled together, causing many of the conflicts we see today. There are dozens of such examples. The strong countries smashing the weaker ones and then avoiding responsibility later for the very problems they caused.”
-“You keep proving my point, Tom, that we’re rotten to the core.”
-“My point is we never learn!”
― David Baldacci, quote from The Camel Club
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