A novel usually begins, in my experience, with a thought or image that won't leave me alone. John Lanchester More Quotes by John Lanchester More Quotes From John Lanchester Rising inequality is not a law of nature - it's not even a law of economics. It is a consequence of political and economic arrangements, and those arrangements can be changed. John Lanchester economicspoliticalnaturelaw Often, in horror films, the single most effective device for building a sense of scariness is the soundtrack: the clanking of chains, the groaning of off-stage ghouls, the unmistakable sound of a cannibal rustic firing up a chainsaw. John Lanchester singlechainsbuildingsound It doesn't thrill me to bits that the state has to use the tools of electronic surveillance to keep us safe, but it seems clear to me that it does, and that our right to privacy needs to be qualified, just as our other rights are qualified, in the interest of general security and the common good. John Lanchester goodmesecurityprivacy Chefs get sucked into the trap of 'fine dining' because some guides make it central to their ratings system and because some customers have been trained to focus their expectations on the trappings and not on the food. It's all a gigantic waste of energy. John Lanchester focusenergyexpectationsfood My standard Nando's order is a chicken breast burger served 'medium,' which is still fairly spicy. John Lanchester burgerchickenstillspicy 'Dead peasants insurance' is a term that sounds as if it comes straight out of Monty Python. If only that were true. John Lanchester insurancedeadtrueonly Video games are the first new artistic medium since television, but they are more different from television than television was from cinema; they are the newest new thing since the arrival of the movies just over a century ago. John Lanchester video-gamesmoviesnewcinema The deconstructed, postmodern pizza has been with us for ages, and the fact is that pretty much every ingredient in the world has been used as a pizza topping and liked by somebody, somewhere. John Lanchester somewhereprettypizzaworld I don't answer the phone or do my email; I don't do anything until I've got the day's writing done. I have a word count for every day: 500 for fiction, 1,000 for non-fiction, and journalism is 1,500. That's a level I can sustain. John Lanchester every-dayphonedayjournalism I have a horror of going down dead ends, which you can easily do with a novel, spending months on it and then realising that it's all wrong. It's demoralising, because you don't get the time back. John Lanchester deaddownyoutime 'Fine dining.' I'd love to know who coined the term and whether they meant it to be as offputting as it is. The words evoke an idea of phoney refinement, of needless flummery, snooty waiters, and an atmosphere designed to intimidate the customer. John Lanchester customerwordsknowlove The truth is, it is hard to know where ideas come from. John Lanchester knowtruth-istruthideas Now that I'm an adult and have a big say in what we eat on Christmas Day, turkey doesn't even make it on to the starting grid for consideration. It isn't just my least favourite meat; it's my least favourite protein. John Lanchester eatsaydaychristmas The Chinese are much too sensible to like turkey - come to think of it, I don't think I've ever encountered turkey anywhere in East Asia, either in a market or on a menu. John Lanchester menuturkeylikethink 'Austerity' is a real weasel word because it's an attempt to make something value-based and abstract out of something which, in reality, consists simply of spending cuts. John Lanchester outsomethingrealreality I don't think quantitative easing is deliberately misleading, but I do think it's suspiciously bland and reassuring. It doesn't sound like anything big, experimental, scary and strange - which is what many economists think it is. John Lanchester likethinkstrangesound Inequality in the developed world fell for most of the 20th century; we can make it fall for most of the 21st century, too. But it won't happen without sustained pressure on politicians from electorates. John Lanchester inequalitypressureworldfall People misunderstand what a police state is. It isn't a country where the police strut around in jackboots; it's a country where the police can do anything they like. Similarly, a security state is one in which the security establishment can do anything it likes. John Lanchester securitypolicecountrypeople If we are going to remake society in the image of the fight against terrorism and put that secret fight at the heart of our democratic order - which is the way we're heading - we need to discuss it, and in public. John Lanchester fightterrorismsocietyheart Photography brought a lot to painting because it forced artists to think about what painting could do that photography couldn't. John Lanchester forcedthinkpaintingphotography
