John Banville Quotes

John Banville
John Banville
Irish Novelist
Born: Dec 8, 1945
Me People Think Work Writing You
Related authors: Elizabeth Bowen Frank Delaney George A. Moore James Joyce Laurence Sterne Maeve Binchy Robert Graves Roddy Doyle
I'm full of self-doubt. I doubt everything I do. Everything I do is a failure. John Banville
Failure Doubt Everything Self-Doubt Full
We writers are shy, nocturnal creatures. Push us into the light and the light blinds us. John Banville
Light Writers Push Nocturnal Blinds Us Creatures Shy
I sometimes think that I might be slightly autistic. There might be a syndrome that hasn't been named. I don't seem to see the world in the same way that most people I know see it. They don't seem to be baffled by it. John Banville
People World Sometimes Think Syndrome Way Slightly See Seem Baffled Named Know Most Been Same Autistic Might
I would be far more critical than any reviewer could be of my own work. So I simply don't read them. John Banville
Work Own Critical Would Would-Be My Own More Could Simply Read Reviewer Than Any Them Far
We're constantly losing - we're losing time, we're losing ourselves. I don't feel for the things I lost. John Banville
Time Losing Lost Ourselves Constantly Feel Things
I don't know if there is a personal identity. We all imagine that we are absolute individuals. But when we begin to look for where this individuality resides, it's very difficult to find. John Banville
Difficult Find Absolute Individuality Individuals Know Look Identity Very Begin Personal Personal Identity Where Resides Imagine
I always think that if you know somebody's name then there's something slightly fraudulent about that person. Otherwise we wouldn't have heard of him or her. John Banville
You Somebody Think Otherwise Slightly Fraudulent About Something Name Know Him Always Heard Person Then Her
We artists love to talk tough, but we're just as sentimental as everyone else when it comes down to it. John Banville
Love Tough Down Else Everyone Everyone Else Talk Just Artists Sentimental
Most crime fiction, no matter how 'hard-boiled' or bloodily forensic, is essentially sentimental, for most crime writers are disappointed romantics. John Banville
Matter Crime Crime Fiction Writers Disappointed Most How Forensic Essentially Fiction Romantics Sentimental
The novel is resilient, and so are novelists. John Banville
Novel Novelists Resilient
If I was asked to say what was the greatest invention of human beings, I would say the sentence. John Banville
Invention Say Would Greatest Human Human Beings Sentence Asked Beings
Dostoevsky is such a bad writer it is hard to take him seriously as a novelist, though he is a wonderful philosopher. John Banville
Wonderful Seriously Philosopher Though Bad Writer Take He Him Hard Novelist
All art at a certain level is entertainment. We go to a tragedy by Sophocles to be entertained. John Banville
Art Entertainment Entertained Go Tragedy Certain Certain Level Level
I think I'm less the writer than I'm the written. John Banville
Think Writer Written Than Less
Why does the past seem so magical, so fraught, so luminous? At the time it was just, ugh, another boring bloody day. But, to look back on, it's a day full of miracles and light and extraordinary events. Why is this? What process do we apply to the past, to give it this vividness? I don't know. John Banville
Time Day Events Light Miracles Past Extraordinary Back Fraught Boring Magical Seem Give Know Look Another Does Bloody Just Process Full Why Luminous Apply
We think we're living in the present, but we're really living in the past. John Banville
Past Living Think In The Past Really Present
With crime fiction, you have to write a half-dozen before they catch on. John Banville
You Crime Before Crime Fiction Write Catch Fiction
I don't make a distinction between men and women. To me they are just people. John Banville
Me Women People Men Men And Women Distinction Between Make Just
I like ideas. I find them more exciting than human behavior for the most part. John Banville
Behavior Find More Part Exciting Like Ideas Most Than Human Human Behavior Them
Life is tragic but it's equally comic. John Banville
Life Equally Comic Tragic
I've always been fascinated by physics and cosmology. It gets more and more scary the older you get. John Banville
You Physics Older Cosmology Scary More More And More Always Been Get Gets Fascinated
When I started writing, I was a great rationalist and believed I was absolutely in control. But the older one gets, the more confused, and for an artist I think that is quite a good thing: you allow in more of your instinctual self; your dreams, fantasies and memories. It's richer, in a way. John Banville
Dreams Good Great You Memories Writing Confused Control Older Think Way More Absolutely Good Thing Allow Self Instinctual Gets Artist Quite Fantasies Richer Your Your Dreams Believed Thing Started
I never went to university. I'm self-educated. I didn't go because I was too impatient, too arrogant. John Banville
Arrogant Too Impatient Never Because Go University
I suppose it's possible that a writer would have feeling for his characters, but I can't see how, because writing is such a meticulous, intricate, technical business. I wish I could say that I love my characters and that frequently they take over the book and run away with the plot and so on. But they don't exist. John Banville
Love Business Book Writing Feeling Wish Say Intricate Plot Possible Characters Run Would See Could Writer Take Over Suppose Because Frequently How His Exist Meticulous Technical Away
I don't see how English as we use it in Europe can be revivified. It's like Latin must have been in about A.D. 300, tired and used up. All one can do is press very hard stylistically to make it glow. John Banville
Tired Latin Press Must See About Like Make Glow How Stylistically Been Up Very Use Used Hard English Europe
With the crime novels, it's delightful to have protagonists I can revisit in book after book. It's like having a fictitious family. John Banville
Family Book Crime Having Delightful Like Protagonists Revisit After Fictitious Novels
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