“I made an awful mess of my first marriage. It was hard to live with me...” — John le Carre Quote

“I made an awful mess of my first marriage. It was hard to live with me being me. I was so abnormal. I mean, most writers struggle. I hadn't struggled. I couldn't suddenly go down to the PEN Club and behave like a normal human being, because most of those guys were struggling to make a couple of thousand pounds a year.”

“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.”

“For better or worse, I've been involved in the description of political conflict.”

“In 'Road,' my character is linear and uni-dimensional. It was more of a reacting character. I am a foil to the other characters in the film. It is the most normal character in the most abnormal, extraordinary film.”

“I like stories where normal people are in abnormal situations, and that's what appeals to me about history.”

“I think I was quite abnormal, in that it took me all of a day to get over the fact that I had MS.”