I don't think that there are very many good writers who don't live without a sense of tension. If they haven't got one immediately available to them, then they usually manage to manufacture it in their private lives.

Quote by John Le Carre

Topics: John Le Carre Quotes

I don't think it is given to any of us to be impertinent to great...

I don't think it is given to any of us to be impertinent to great...

Betrayal can only happen if you love

Betrayal can only happen if you love

America has entered one of its periods of historic madness, but this is the worst...

America has entered one of its periods of historic madness, but this is the worst...

People who've had very unhappy childhoods are pretty good at inventing themselves. If nobody invents...

People who've had very unhappy childhoods are pretty good at inventing themselves. If nobody invents...

In every war zone that I've been in, there has been a reality and then...

In every war zone that I've been in, there has been a reality and then...

Americans believe that if you know something, you should do something about it.

Americans believe that if you know something, you should do something about it.

I'm really a library man, or second-hand book man.

I'm really a library man, or second-hand book man.

I am still making order out of chaos by reinvention.

I am still making order out of chaos by reinvention.

During the Cold War, we lived in coded times when it wasn't easy and there...

During the Cold War, we lived in coded times when it wasn't easy and there...

We lie to one another every day, in the sweetest way, often unconsciously. We dress...

We lie to one another every day, in the sweetest way, often unconsciously. We dress...

I think that where I've watched a movie go wrong, it's usually because the dread...

I think that where I've watched a movie go wrong, it's usually because the dread...

History keeps her secrets longer than most of us. But she has one secret that...

History keeps her secrets longer than most of us. But she has one secret that...

If I had to put a name to it, I would wish that all my...

If I had to put a name to it, I would wish that all my...

A spy, like a writer, lives outside the mainstream population. He steals his experience through...

A spy, like a writer, lives outside the mainstream population. He steals his experience through...

The Cold War was over long before it was officially declared dead.

The Cold War was over long before it was officially declared dead.

Every writer knows he is spurious; every fiction writer would rather be credible than authentic.

Every writer knows he is spurious; every fiction writer would rather be credible than authentic.

Betrayal can only happen if you love.

Betrayal can only happen if you love.

Deceiving others. That is what the world calls a romance.

Deceiving others. That is what the world calls a romance.

Never tell a loved one of an infidelity: you would be badly rewarded for your...

Never tell a loved one of an infidelity: you would be badly rewarded for your...

Infidelity is a choice made of our own free will.

Infidelity is a choice made of our own free will.