It's now expected of me that I will defy expectation, so I really generally seem to be free to write what I want.

Quote by Jonathan Lethem

Topics: Jonathan Lethem Quotes

I've never related to the work geek at all-it sounds much more horrible than nerd....

I've never related to the work geek at all-it sounds much more horrible than nerd....

I work on a laptop specifically so I can work in cafes and pretend I'm...

I work on a laptop specifically so I can work in cafes and pretend I'm...

It was only as I wrote about it that I began to find paths of...

It was only as I wrote about it that I began to find paths of...

I grew up with an artist father, and my parents' friends were also mainly artists...

I grew up with an artist father, and my parents' friends were also mainly artists...

Fantastic writing in English is kind of disreputable, but fantastic writing in translation is the...

Fantastic writing in English is kind of disreputable, but fantastic writing in translation is the...

I plan less and less. It's a great benefit of writing lots, that you get...

I plan less and less. It's a great benefit of writing lots, that you get...

The book is openly a kind of spiritual autobiography, but the trick is that on...

The book is openly a kind of spiritual autobiography, but the trick is that on...

In my third novel there is an actual black hole that swallows everything you love.

In my third novel there is an actual black hole that swallows everything you love.

Comics? Honestly, that's more a matter of nostalgia for me. I think most of that...

Comics? Honestly, that's more a matter of nostalgia for me. I think most of that...

The past is still visible. The buildings haven't changed, the layout of the streets hasn't...

The past is still visible. The buildings haven't changed, the layout of the streets hasn't...

I learned to write fiction the way I learned to read fiction - by skipping...

I learned to write fiction the way I learned to read fiction - by skipping...

I'd excluded New York from my writing, and then I came back and I fell...

I'd excluded New York from my writing, and then I came back and I fell...

I got into underground comics fairly early on and kind of wandered away from the...

I got into underground comics fairly early on and kind of wandered away from the...

I've had the odd good luck of starting slowly and building gradually, something few writers...

I've had the odd good luck of starting slowly and building gradually, something few writers...

I keep one simple rule that I only move in one direction - I write...

I keep one simple rule that I only move in one direction - I write...

I don't paint anymore. I haven't since I abandoned it at 19, in order to...

I don't paint anymore. I haven't since I abandoned it at 19, in order to...

It was good while it was good.

It was good while it was good.

I can't bear the silent ringing in my skull.

I can't bear the silent ringing in my skull.

My fiction has been influenced by the visual arts, though not in obvious ways, it...

My fiction has been influenced by the visual arts, though not in obvious ways, it...

The more film I watch, the more John Ford looks like a giant. His politics...

The more film I watch, the more John Ford looks like a giant. His politics...