Until we have a better relationship between private performance and the public truth, as was demonstrated with Watergate, we as the public are absolutely right to remain suspicious, contemptuous even, of the secrecy and the misinformation which is the digest of our news. John le Carre absolutelycontemptuousdemonstrate share on social
I think, increasingly, despite what we are being told is an ever more open world of communication, there is a terrible alienation in the ordinary man between what he is being told and what he secretly believes. John le Carre alienationbelievecommunication share on social
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, to take away information - often in secret - and to translate that into intelligence for his masters, whether it's his readership or his spy masters. And I think that both professions are perhaps rather lonely. John le Carre attachcommunityinformation share on social
Writers are two-home men - they want a place outside and a place within. John le Carre homemanplace Change image and share on social
Fools, most linguists. Damn all to say in one language, so they learn another and say damn all in that. John le Carre damnfoollanguage Change image and share on social
Americans believe that if you know something, you should do something about it. John le Carre american Change image and share on social
In my day, MI6 - which I called the Circus in the books - stank of wartime nostalgia. People were defined by secret cachet: one man did something absolutely extraordinary in Norway; another was the darling of the French Resistance. We didn't even show passes to go in and out of the building. John le Carre absolutelybookbuild share on social
My definition of a decent society is one that first of all takes care of its losers, and protects its weak. John le Carre caredecentdefinition Change image and share on social
Like every novelist, I fantasise about film. Novelists are not equipped to make a movie, in my opinion. They make their own movie when they write: they're casting, they're dressing the scene, they're working out where the energy of the scene is coming from, and they're also relying tremendously on the creative imagination of the reader. John le Carre castcomecreative share on social