John Banville Quotes
All art is to some extent shaped by what has gone before. But that is an organic process, not a conscious intention. Novels are made out of novels as much as they are out of life.
Quotes to Explore
-
Containment, as everyone will recall, was a rough plan for stopping the Communists any time they crossed a certain line dividing our half of the world from theirs.
-
They're always so serious, the orchestras, you know? It's always a fun contrast of that song and the genre of music. And me.
-
My house looks like it was decorated by a 14-year old with a platinum American Express card.
-
I never left doo wop.
-
I'm more of a guy's girl. I like having a beer in a bar, and I don't bicker or sit down and do my nails.
-
In truth, to know oneself seems to be the hardest of all things. Not only our eye, which observes external objects, does not use the sense of sight upon itself, but even our mind, which contemplates intently another's sin, is slow in the recognition of its own defects.
-
Life wasn't about freeing up human souls. It was about creating obedient slaves in the hierarchical construction of the society - with God at the top, then the king and then the father.
-
Adding 'just kidding' doesn't make it okay to insult the Principal.
-
It seems to me that unless you or someone very close to you has had a bad head injury, you really can't fathom it. You have no concept of what it is all about. It was so difficult for my whole family, not just me.
-
I don't believe that intelligence can be reduced to a number, frankly. But I can see how doing exactly that produces a useful sorting mechanism in our society in order to separate children into categories of promising and doomed. The tests seem arbitrary and without real scientific value and yet have lasting consequences.
-
Even as a 10-year-old, I remember trying to explain to my mother and stepfather how upset and frustrated a messy room made me. But they just couldn't grasp it. They wanted me to be playing with baseballs and frogs while I wanted to be scouring garage sales.
-
I'm not a quitter. All my career, I went through a lot of physical adversity, injuries. It's in my nature to be a battler.
-
As many of you know I travel a good bit and do not get to see my friends and family as much as I would like.
-
I'm a conservative Republican, small-business guy, married to same gal - love of my life - for 36 years. Strong family man, deacon at my church; I believe in America. I know government is not the answer; individual liberty and personal responsibility is the answer.
-
Searches of al Qaeda sites in Afghanistan, undertaken since American-backed forces took control there, are not known to have turned up a significant cache of nuclear materials.
-
My creativity all comes from the same place. I wear one very comfortable, large hat.
-
When you're actually making the film, you're constantly battling to maintain its integrity.
-
When you grow up in the country in France, you have small horizons.
-
While there is a chance of the world getting through its troubles, I hold that a reasonable man has to behave as though he were sure of it. If at the end your cheerfulness in not justified, at any rate you will have been cheerful.
-
It’s not just about being against cruelty. It’s about being for compassion.
-
I was called fat and ugly in the press almost my entire life. I understand that being judged by others comes with the territory, but it broke my heart and ruined my self-esteem.
-
I moved to New York on October 21, 2004, and it was the day that the Chelsea Grill, a restaurant in Hell's Kitchen on 9th Avenue between 46th and 47th Street, opened. I had never waited a table in my life, but I walked in and lied to the manager in a very J. Pierrepont Finch way.
-
As far as art's concerned, I probably like modern art more than traditional art.
-
All art is to some extent shaped by what has gone before. But that is an organic process, not a conscious intention. Novels are made out of novels as much as they are out of life.
