348 Quotes by John le Carré

The monsters of our childhood do not fade away, neither are they ever wholly monstrous. But neither, in my experience, do we ever reach a plane of detachment regarding our parents, however wise and old we may become. To pretend otherwise is to cheat.

I grew up in a completely bookless household. It was my father's boast that he had never read a book from end to end. I don't remember any of his ladies being bookish. So I was entirely dependent on my schoolteachers for my early reading with the exception of 'The Wind in the Willows,' which a stepmother read to me when I was in hospital.

My definition of a decent society is one that first of all takes care of its losers, and protects its weak.

Betrayal can only happen if you love.

Survival ... is an infinite capacity for suspicion.

Do you know what love is?... It is whatever you can still betray.