The greater the novel, the more it is apt to embody the special, non-replicable properties of the written medium.
Joseph O'NeillNovel-writing is a bit like deception. You lie as little as you possibly can. That's the way I do it, anyway.
Joseph O'NeillIt won't be long before we'll be deafened by the screeches of whistles being blown by whistle-blowers blowing the whistle on themselves.
Joseph O'NeillI have been to Turkey almost every summer holiday of my life and pretty much only on summer holidays, which makes me a very shallow Turk indeed.
Joseph O'NeillI'm completely cricketed out. If I never have to write another word about cricket again, I'll be a happy man.
Joseph O'NeillIt used to be the case that for an Irishman to come to the U.S. involved a perilous journey on a ship. It involved singing lots of songs before you left saying goodbye, and once you were in the U.S., it involved singing lots of songs about how you were never going to set foot in Ireland again.
Joseph O'NeillYou want a novel to tap as directly as possible into your most unspeakable preoccupations. And in America, in particular, cricket is pretty unspeakable.
Joseph O'Neill