01UndatedI once heard someone say morality was method. Do you hold with that? I suppose you wouldn't. You would say that morality was vested in the aim, I expect. Difficult to know what one's aims are, that's the trouble, specially if you're British.John le Carré / quote ↗
02UndatedThere was nothing dishonourable in not being blown about by every little modern wind. Better to have worth, to entrench, to be an oak of one's own generation.John le Carré / quote ↗
03UndatedHe knew how intelligent men could be broken by the stupidity of their superiors, how weeks of patient work night and day could be cast aside by such a manJohn le Carré / quote ↗
04UndatedGive a man a car of his own and he leaves humility and common sense behind him in the garage.John le Carré / quote ↗
05UndatedHe had the nerve not to drink in a University where you proved your manhood by being drunk most of your first year.John le Carré / quote ↗
06UndatedHaydon had found his charm again. He could do that at the drop of a hat. He drew you and he repelled you. I remember that exactly. He danced all ways for you, playing your emotions against each other because he had none of his own.John le Carré / quote ↗
07UndatedA lot of people see doubt as legitimate philosophical posture. They think of themselves in the middle, whereas of course really, they're nowhere.John le Carré / quote ↗
10UndatedThe monsters of our childhood do not fade away, neither are they ever wholly monstrousJohn le Carré / quote ↗
11UndatedThere comes a moment for all of us when our childhood ceases to be an excuse. In your case, I would say that, as with many English, the moment is somewhat delayed.John le Carré / quote ↗
13UndatedMiddle children weep longer than their brothers and sisters. Over her mother’s shoulder, stilling her pains and her injured pride, Jackie Lacon watched the party leave. First, two men she had not seen before: one tall, one short and dark. They drove off in a small green van. No one waved to them, she noticed, or even said goodbye. Next, her father left in his own car; lastly a blond, good-looking man and a short fat one in an enormous overcoat like a pony blanket made their way to a sports car parked under the beech trees. For a moment she really thought there must be something wrong with the fat one, he followed so slowly and so painfully. Then, seeing the handsome man hold the car door for him, he seemed to wake, and hurried forward with a lumpy skip. Unaccountably, this gesture upset her afresh. A storm of sorrow seized her and her mother could not console her.John le Carré / quote ↗
17UndatedAfterwards Smiley always thought of that interview as a fan dance; a calculated progression of disclosures, each revealing different parts of a mysterious entity. Finally Steed-Asprey, who seemed to be Chairman, removed the last veil, and the truth stood before him in all its dazzling nakedness. He was being offered a post in what, for want of a better name, Steed-Asprey blushingly described as the Secret Service.John le Carré / quote ↗
18UndatedWhen a problem threatens to engulf you, there's nothing like irrelevant detail to keep your head above water.John le Carré / quote ↗
19UndatedWe've had enough." He took back the report and jammed it under his arm. "We've had a bellyful, in fact.""And like everyone who's had enough," said Control as Alleline noisily left the room, "he wants more.John le Carré / quote ↗
21UndatedBut despite such energetic mental exercise, the ghosts of time present would intrude and drive his dreams away. It was Ann who had robbed him of his peace, Ann who had once made the present so important and taught him the habit of reality, and when she went there was nothing.John le Carré / quote ↗
22UndatedDo you know what love is? I'll tell you: it is whatever you can still betray.John le Carré / quote ↗
23UndatedDon't give it to them all at once, make them work for it. Confuse them with detail, leave things out, go back on your tracks. Be testy, be cussed, be difficult. Drink like a fish; don't give way on the ideology, they won't trust that. They want to deal with a man they've bought; they want the clash of opposites, Alec, not some half-cock convert.John le Carré / quote ↗
24UndatedThey might have you, and they pay badly enough to guarantee you decent company.John le Carré / quote ↗
