John le Carre

Quotations

  • “I worked for MI6 in the Sixties, during the great witch-hunts, when the shared paranoia of the Cold War gripped the services.” -John le Carre

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  • “If there is one eternal truth of politics, it is that there are always a dozen good reasons for doing nothing.” -John le Carre

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  • “My definition of a decent society is one that first of all takes care of its losers, and protects its weak.” -John le Carre

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  • “But I think the real tension lies in the relationship between what you might call the pursuer and his quarry, whether it’s the writer or the spy.” -John le Carre

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  • “If there is one eternal truth of politics, it is that there are always a dozen good reasons for doing nothing.” -John le Carre

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  • “Most people like to read about intrigue and spies. I hope to provide a metaphor for the average reader’s daily life. Most of us live in a slightly conspiratorial relationship with our employer and perhaps with our marriage.” -John le Carre

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  • “The Secret Intelligence Service I knew occupied dusky suites of little rooms opposite St James’s Park Tube station in London.” -John le Carre

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  • “Most people like to read about intrigue and spies. I hope to provide a metaphor for the average reader’s daily life. Most of us live in a slightly conspiratorial relationship with our employer and perhaps with our marriage.” -John le Carre

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  • “History keeps her secrets longer than most of us. But she has one secret that I will reveal to you tonight in the greatest confidence. Sometimes there are no winners at all. And sometimes nobody needs to lose.” -John le Carre

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  • “I was quite able at the insignificant work I did in MI6, but absolutely dysfunctional in my domestic life. I had no experience of fatherhood. I had no example of marital bliss or the family unit.” -John le Carre

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  • “I was quite able at the insignificant work I did in MI6, but absolutely dysfunctional in my domestic life. I had no experience of fatherhood. I had no example of marital bliss or the family unit.” -John le Carre

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  • “More particularly, having a largely German-oriented education has made me very responsive to 19th-century German literature.” -John le Carre

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  • “I mean, I’m in the business of storytelling, not message making.” -John le Carre

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  • I don’t know whether it’s age or maturity, but I certainly find myself committed more and more to the looser forms of Western democracy at any price. – John le Carre

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