Top 51 Quotes by Alexander McCall Smith

There is this intimacy still in Botswana. It's a country of just under two million people, and there's this sense of connectedness, in that people tend to be related to one another.

Many of my books are written from a female perspective. I rather enjoy the take that women have on the world, and certainly I enjoy the conversations that women have.

Writers obviously have to bear witness to the harsh face of the age.

A very powerful theme in fiction is that of loss.

The local community is very important in one's life; the feelings of identification with a place and people.

But you cannot expect every writer to dwell on human suffering. I think my books do deal with grave issues. People who say they are too positive probably haven't read them.

I would never inflict my bassoon on anybody really other than the long suffering audiences that come to the concerts of The Really Terrible Orchestra; which actually is really terrible.

I've also long since realized that the way to really engage children is to give out prizes; it's amazing how it concentrates their minds.

I'm interested in character and dialogue and exchange of ideas.

The Okavango Delta is an astonishing sight: the great Okavango River, rather than flow towards the sea, flows inland, into the sands of the Kalahari.