John Le Carre Quotes

“Yes, dear Father. But has it ever occurred to you that by controlling [your feelings] you destroy them? How many times can we say sorry before we don't feel sorry anymore?”
― John le Carré, A Most Wanted Man

“I don't break down," she announced. "Got it?"

He got it. He was already pulling back, looking ashamed of himself, but somehow he was still holding her wrist.

"I never break down. I'm a lawyer.”
― John le Carré, A Most Wanted Man

“We're all a bunch of no-good apostates and blasphemers and murderers and fornicators and God-haters, so fuck the lot of us." For those guys, and all the guys we'd like to meet who share their perceptions, it's the Western hemisphere versus Islam, and no stops between.”
― John le Carre

“Nobody can do corporate rot more discreetly than the spies. Nobody does better mission creep. Nobody knows better how to create an image of mysterious omniscience and hide behind it. Nobody does a better job of pretending to be a cut above a public that has no choice but to pay top price for second-rate intelligence whose lure lies in the gothic secrecy of its procurement, rather than its intrinsic worth.”
― John le Carré, The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories from My Life