I've had the odd good luck of starting slowly and building gradually, something few writers are allowed anymore. As a result I've seen each of my books called the breakthrough. And each was, in its way.

Quote by Jonathan Lethem

Topics: Jonathan Lethem Quotes

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...

It's now expected of me that I will defy expectation, so I really generally seem...

It's now expected of me that I will defy expectation, so I really generally seem...

I had always wanted to be a writer who confused genre boundaries and who was...

I had always wanted to be a writer who confused genre boundaries and who was...

When the civil rights battle was won, all the Jews and hippies and artists were...

When the civil rights battle was won, all the Jews and hippies and artists were...

I just noticed recently that in one book after another I seem to find an...

I just noticed recently that in one book after another I seem to find an...

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...

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'd have been a filmmaker or a cartoonist or something else which extended from the...

I'd have been a filmmaker or a cartoonist or something else which extended from the...

Nerds are just deep, and neurotic, fans. Needy fans. We're all nerds, on one subject...

Nerds are just deep, and neurotic, fans. Needy fans. We're all nerds, on one subject...

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.

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...

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...

What's lucky about my career in general is that I stumbled into what every writer...

What's lucky about my career in general is that I stumbled into what every writer...

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 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...

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...

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...

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...

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...