Winning the Whitbread was a very major thing for me. I'd always been well reviewed, but this made me widely read. Justin Cartwright majormakeread Change image and share on social
The ANC was the product of a much earlier South Africa, a gradualist and non-tribal multi-racial organisation, driven to violence by the intransigence of the Afrikaner Nationalist Government, obsessed with improbable ideas of revolution. Justin Cartwright africaafrikaneranc share on social
Franschhoek - French Corner - is a place which serves South Africans as a kind of sophisticated fantasy, an alternative version of what life could be. The small town is enclosed by wild mountains, at this time of year blue and dusty green. Justin Cartwright africanalternativeblue share on social
The point about 'state-of-the-nation' novels is not that they should be about the 'state-of-the-nation', but they should be about people. Justin Cartwright nationnovelpeople Change image and share on social
I suppose on the filmmaking side, you can learn how to cram a lot into a small space. But I think that advertising, even on what is called the creative side, is incredibly easy if you have that kind of mind. A lot of people regard it as Machiavellian and dangerous, but, in fact, it is morally neutral. Justin Cartwright advertisecallcram share on social
'Homer and Langley' is the work of E. L. Doctorow's old age. There are fewer Homeric references than you might have expected, given that the narrator is called Homer Collyer and is blind, although, like the classical Homer, not born blind. Justin Cartwright agebearblind share on social
Historians and journalists always have agendas, but if I want to find out what's going on in South Africa, I read Nadine Gordimer or John Coetzee because they offer novelistic truth. Justin Cartwright africaagendacoetzee Change image and share on social
You can't believe anything that's written in an historical novel, and yet the author's job is always to create a believable world that readers can enter. It's especially so, I think, for writers of historical fiction. Justin Cartwright authorbelievablecreate share on social
America is the big subject of the second half of the 20th century, tackled in one form or another by all the great American male writers. You could make a case for saying that it was the only game in town - from Bellow to Roth to Updike to Richard Ford - America was more or less explicitly the leitmotif. Justin Cartwright 20thamericaamerican share on social
I love Franschhoek, and straight off the plane, I went to the incomparable Quartier Francais, on the main street, for breakfast. This small hotel and restaurant is regularly near the top of every poll for best hotel and restaurant in Africa. Justin Cartwright africabreakfastfrancais share on social