My father was a civil servant, so having a regular job, being respectable is a big deal for me. Respectable in the sense that I support my family. That's what I mean by respectability.
Hanif KureishiAt the deepest level people are madder than they want to believe. You will find that they fear being eaten, and are alarmed by their desire to devour others.
Hanif KureishiOur lives can only be lived forward and understood backwards. Living a life and understanding it occupy different dimensions.
Hanif KureishiI am determined to live without illusions. I want to look at reality straight. Without hiding.
Hanif KureishiSecrets are my currency: I deal in them for a living. The secrets of desire, of what people really want, and of what they fear the most. The secrets of why love is difficult, sex complicated, living painful and death so close and yet placed far away. Why are pleasure and punishment closely related? How do our bodies speak? Why do we make ourselves ill? Why do you want to fail? Why is pleasure hard to bear?
Hanif Kureishi