England opened up the world of literature for me. Not really having a world of my own, I made up for my disinheritance by absorbing the world of others... I loved them: George Eliot, Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens... I adopted them passionately. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala absorbadoptcharle share on social
The older books were quite light-hearted. But I think most of my novels do end on a deep note of pessimism. Shadows seem to be closing in. The final conclusion isn't that life is wonderful and everything is bright and cheery and in the garden. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala bookbrightcheery share on social
Film, for me, is in two stages. One is when I write the script more or less on my own - that's the nice bit. And then comes for me the unpleasant bit when they all go off, 100 people - actors and camera people and film and sound - and I stay away. When they go into the editing room, I come in again, and that's the bit I like. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala actorbitecamera share on social
It's technically extremely difficult to get down what you really mean, not what you think you mean, or what you think sounds good, but what's really there, what you really have to express, in words that somehow convey that meaning in an approximate way. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala approximateconveydifficult share on social
I was never interested in film. Never. I never even thought of it. I wasn't even a film buff, I didn't see many films ever. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala bufffilminterest Change image and share on social
I always find the first thing that really bothers me when I start a screenplay is, I have to find a different form. You can't follow the form of the novel. It's a different thing completely. It's impossible. You just somehow have to find a structure for the whole thing. You have to crack that. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala bothercompletelycrack share on social
I like characters who are larger-than-life, whether life-loving women or the artist or guru who grabs everything. But I don't live among people like that. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala artistcharactergrab Change image and share on social
Everyone is so estranged; no one is rooted. That's what I like to write about more than anything else. Everything being so mixed up. Racially mixed up, people moving from place to place, everything shifting. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala estrangemixmove share on social
England gave me a language and literature, the basis of what I am as a writer, but when I started writing more directly about my own experience, it wasn't England so much as what went before. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala basisdirectlyengland Change image and share on social
India was a sensation. It was remarkable to see all those parrots flying about, the brilliant foliage and the brilliant sky. It was a tremendous pageant. I never noticed the poverty. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala brilliantflyfoliage Change image and share on social