29 Quotes by Simon Mawer

She knows what it is to be sad and miserable, but those emotions are almost enjoyable. They throw moments of happiness and laughter into sharper relief.

The shutter of the photographer's camera makes that repeated mechanical sound. That unlocking and locking of the doors of light to send momentary images of the present into the light trap of the past.

You don't have to be guilty of anything in order to feel guilt

The Slavs aren't unintelligent of course, just emotionally unstable, liable to great heights and great depths. That is what science tells one. Look at Tchaikovsky. Look at Dostoyevsky.

Problém se slovy spočívá v tom, že stahují myšlenky k zemi, přibíjejí je na kříž přesných významů. Ale život není o přesných významech, spíše o jejich odstínech, o náznacích, verzích a rozporech, o propojení lásky a nenávisti, vypočítavosti a touhy.

„Strach je užitečný,“ vysvětlil jí kdysi její psychiatr. „Strach posiluje naše obranné reflexy. Ale panika je k ničemu.

Only occasionally do I read new fiction. Most of my reading is heavily dictated by what I'm writing at the time.

One of the reasons I wrote 'The Fall' is that climbing's more than a sport, it's a way of life. When you're in it, it's all you think about.

I find it very easy to be alone. I'm a writer, for heaven's sakes!