Quotes from Ian Mcewan

Both men accepted that the nature of the request, its intimacy and self-conscious reflection on their friendship, had created, for the moment, an uncomfortable emotional proximity which was best dealt with by their parting without another word.

It's a matter of dishonour, and when it gets out, which it's bound to, this will be the one act you'll be remembered for. Everything else you achieved will be irrelevant. Your reputation will rest only on this, because ultimately reality is social, it's among others that we have to live and their judgements matter.

Work - the ultimate badge of health.

My ideal state as a reader when I'm reading other people is feeling I'm vaguely wasting my time when I'm not reading that novel.

Chi prende in mano un violino, o qualunque altro strumento, compie un gesto di speranza che comporta il desiderio di un futuro

Consent has rough edges.

Her purity of spirit would never be in doubt, though she moved through a blemished world.

I saw the same joy, the same uncontrollable smile in the faces of a Nigerian earth mama, a thin-lipped Scottish granny and a pale correct Japanese businessman as they wheeled their trolleys in and recognised a figure in the expectant crowd. Observing human variety can give pleasure, but so too can human sameness

I'm raising my glass to that love. May it never be denied, forgotten, distorted, or rejected as illusion. To our love. It happened. It was true.

How could anyone presume to know the world through the eyes of an insect? Not everything had a cause, and pretending otherwise was an interference in the workings of the world that was futile, and could even lead to grief. Some things were simply so.

But belligerence was a poor aid to concentration, as were three gins and a bottle of wine

Surely the Greeks had a word for it, choosing to act in one's own very worst interests? Yes, they did. It was akrasia.

So, one-third of the time it's a bad idea to move, which means that two-thirds of the time it's a good idea.

She would have called after him but for the dread of being ignored.

Entropy was a troubling and beautiful concept that lay at the heart of much human toil and sorrow. Everything, especially life, fell apart. Order was a boulder to be rolled uphill. The kitchen would not tidy itself.

I've heard it argued that long ago pain begat consciousness. To avoid serious damage a simple

Vreau s? zic c? am v?zut lucrurile într-o lumin? stranie, ca pentru prima oar?. Toate mi s-au p?rut altfel: prea precis conturate, prea reale. Chiar È™i mâinile mele arat? altfel. Alteori mi se pare c? m? uit la tot ce se întâmpl? în jur ca È™i cum s-ar fi întâmplat foarte demult.

When love dies and a marriage lies in ruins, the first casualty is honest memory, decent, impartial recall of the past.

These hands are steady enough, but they are large. Had he been a proper pianist - he's dabbled inexpertly - his ten-note span might be of use.

From there we came to love. We told each other what lovers never tire of hearing and needing to say.

The beginning of conscious life was the end of illusion, the illusion on no-being, and the eruption of the real. The triumph of realism over magic, of is over seems .

In difficult moments it's sometimes a good idea to ask yourself what it is you most want to be doing and consider how it can be achieved. If it can't, move on to the second best thing.

My prejudice was that any machine that could not tell you by its very functioning how it should be used was not worth its keep.

Only in fairy tales are unwanted babies orphaned upwards.