185 Quotes by Hanif Kureishi

The interesting people you wanted to be with – their minds were unusual, you saw things freshly with them and all was not deadness and repetition.

My father had the right idea. Begin from an assumption of insanity and then laugh, where possible.

I am determined to live without illusions. I want to look at reality straight. Without hiding.

The point is, Harry, if I’m not to find you abhorrent, there will have to be more reciprocity all round. Particularly from your side.

My father was a civil servant, so having a regular job, being respectable is a big deal for me. Respectable in the sense that I support my family. That’s what I mean by respectability.

I’d send Eleanor a dignified note. Then I’d have to fall out of love with her. That was the rough part. Everything in life is organized around people falling in love with each other. Falling is easy; but no one tells you how to fall out of love. I didn’t know where to begin.

The cruellest thing you can do to Kerouac is reread him at thirty-eight.

Suicide is one way of saying you’re sorry.

I’ve learned that unfeeling, bloodsucking men like you need to reduce women to manageable cliches, even to destroy them, for the sake of control.