I began writing when I was still in the British Foreign Service, and it was then understood that even if you wrote about butterfly collecting, you used another name.
John Le CarreRead
If I had to put a name to it, I would wish that all my books were entertainments. I think the first thing you've got to do is grab the reader by the ear, and make him sit down and listen. Make him laugh, make him feel. We all want to be entertained at a very high level.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of engaging and entertaining readers through literature.
John Le Carre reflects on the role of literature as a form of entertainment, suggesting that the primary objective of any written work should be to captivate the reader's attention and elicit emotions. He underscores the significance of making readers laugh and feel deeply, asserting that high-quality entertainment is a fundamental desire we all share.
In practice
During a writers' conference, I would use this quote to inspire fellow authors to prioritize reader engagement.
I began writing when I was still in the British Foreign Service, and it was then understood that even if you wrote about butterfly collecting, you used another name.
In every war zone that I've been in, there has been a reality and then there has been the public perception of why the war was being fought. In every crisis, the issues have been far more complex than the public has been allowed to know.
The cat sat on the mat is not a story. The cat sat on the other cat’s mat is a story.
The monsters of our childhood do not fade away, neither are they ever wholly monstrous.
Coming home from very lonely places, all of us go a little mad: whether from great personal success, or just an all-night drive, we are the sole survivors of a world no one else has ever seen.
We've had enough." He took back the report and jammed it under his arm. "We've had a bellyful, in fact." "And like everyone who's had enough," said Control as Alleline noisily left the room, "he wants more.
Art happens-no hovel is safe from it, no prince may depend upon it, the vastest intelligence cannot bring it about.
Composers and musicians have always starved and, as this is a sentimental country, we think the tradition should be continued.
Recounting the strange is like telling one's dreams: one can communicate the events of a dream, but not the emotional content, the way that a dream can colour one's entire day.
Novels are fictions and therefore they tell lies, but through those lies every novelist attempts to tell the truth about the world.
I still get a little nervous before performing. You don't want to forget a lyric; you don't want to make a mistake. I still get butterflies. You can try to judge an audience, but you can only really judge things by the applause.
With 'Stardust', I hope what I was doing is giving 30-year-olds and 40-year-olds and 25-year-olds and 60-year-olds a chance to get the same sense of wonder, the same feeling, the same magic, that they got in reading the classic fairy tales as children.
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