It seems to me that you would have to write a novel on a very small, intimate scale for it not to become political.
Jonathan CoeMy only regret is that I signed away the world rights and in America they've been far and away my most successful books, but I never saw a cent from any of it.
Jonathan CoeSometimes I feel that I am destined always to be offstage whenever the main action occurs. That God has made me the victim of some cosmic practical joke, by assigning me little more than a walk-on part in my own life. Or sometimes I feel that my role is simply to be a spectator to other people's stories, and always to wander away at the most important moment, drifiting into the kitchen to make a cup of tea just as the denouement unfolds.
Jonathan CoeAs I said, I had no publisher for What a Carve Up! while I was writing it, so all we had to live off was my wife's money and little bits I was picking up for journalism.
Jonathan Coe