I went to boarding school, and then I went to Oxford, and I know how easy it is for certain groups of people to become wholly insulated from ordinary life. Mark Haddon boardeasygroup Change image and share on social
Children simply don't make the distinction; a book is either good or bad. And some of the books they think are good are very, very bad indeed. Mark Haddon badbookchild Change image and share on social
I don't remember deciding to become a writer. You decide to become a dentist or a postman. For me, writing is like being gay. You finally admit that this is who you are, you come out and hope that no one runs away. Mark Haddon admitdecidedentist share on social
I don't mean that literary fiction is better than genre fiction, On the contrary; novels can perform two functions and most perform only one. Mark Haddon contraryfictionfunction Change image and share on social
I am quite amazed how, when people earn lots of money, they think they have to spend it on things that give them access to the club constituted by the people who are in their tax bracket. Mark Haddon accessamazebracket Change image and share on social
Most of my work consisted of crossing out. Crossing out was the secret of all good writing. Mark Haddon consistcrossgood Change image and share on social
If one book's done this well, you want to write another one that does just as well. There's that horror of the second novel that doesn't match up. Mark Haddon bookhorrormatch Change image and share on social
The most difficult book I wrote was the fourth in a series of linked children's books. It was like pulling teeth because the publisher wanted exactly the same but completely different. I'd much rather just do something completely different, even if there's a risk of it going wrong. Mark Haddon bookchildcompletely share on social
No one is ever really a stranger. We cling to the belief that we share nothing with certain people. It's rubbish. We have almost everything in common with everyone. Mark Haddon beliefclingcommon Change image and share on social
