Novel-writing is a bit like deception. You lie as little as you possibly can. That's the way I do it, anyway.

Novel-writing is a bit like deception. You lie as little as you possibly can. That's the way I do it, anyway.

You want a novel to tap as directly as possible into your most unspeakable preoccupations. And in America, in particular, cricket is pretty unspeakable.

I'm completely cricketed out. If I never have to write another word about cricket again, I'll be a happy man.

If what you want to do is write, then it's madness not to do it.

I 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.

It won't be long before we'll be deafened by the screeches of whistles being blown by whistle-blowers blowing the whistle on themselves.