Len Deighton Quotations

I store away my experiences and don't feel really happy until I've found a way to write about them.

I think the reason working-class people don't write books is because they are encouraged to believe that only certain people are permitted to write books.

Anyone can write one book: even politicians do it. Starting a second book reveals an intention to be a professional writer.

Writers are frequently asked why they wrote their first book. A more interesting answer might come from asking them why they wrote their second one.

I wrote my first books the way people would write science fiction, because they gave me much more latitude to invent situations.

When old men decided to barter young men for pride and profit, the transaction was called war.

The tragedy of marriage is that while all women marry thinking that their man will change, all men marry believing their wife will never change.

Whatever path you take, there is a league of bad road.

Do you ever make silly mistakes? It is one of my very few creative activities.

Capitalism is the exploitation of man by man. Well socialism is exactly the reverse.

Progress is man's indifference to the lessons of history.

The factory workers say that it's impossible to do anything right. If you arrive five minutes early you are a saboteur; if you arrive five minutes late you are betraying socialism; if you arrive on time they say, Where did you get the watch?

In Mexico an air conditioner is called a politician because it makes a lot of noise but doesn't work very well.