He looked down and did something quite out of character for him: he took hold of Shmuel's tiny hand in his and squeezed it tightly. "You're my best friend, Shmuel," he said. "My best friend for life. John Boyne More Quotes by John Boyne More Quotes From John Boyne War today is such a more visible thing. We see it on television, on CNN. In 1914, war was a concept. John Boyne cnn war television The first thing he noticed was how quiet it was. This was nothing like the kind of quiet he heard when he woke up in the middle of the night after a bad dream. When that happened, there were always strange, unidentifiable sounds seeping into his room from the tiny gaps where the windowpanes weren't sealed together correctly. At those moments he could always tell there was life outside, even if all that life was fast asleep. It was a silence that wasn't silence at all. John Boyne silence dream night And I have tried to forget him, I have tried to convince myself that it was just one of those things, but it’s difficult to do that when my body is standing here, eight feet deep in the earth of northern France, while my heart remains by a stream in a clearing in England where I left it weeks ago. John Boyne eight feet heart He suddenly became convinced that if he didn’t do something sensible, something to put his mind to some use, then before he knew it he would be wondering round the streets having fights with himself and inviting domestic animals to social occasions too. John Boyne fighting mind animal I was dropped by my publisher after my first two books. But I always believed in myself. John Boyne two book firsts But still there are moments when a brother and sister can lay down their instruments of torture for a moment and speak as civilized human beings and Bruno decided to make this one of those moments. John Boyne moments speak brother Do you see the irony at all, Tristan?’ I stare at him and shake my head. He seems determined not to speak again until I do. ‘What irony?’ I ask eventually, the words tumbling out in a hurried heap. ‘That I am to be shot as a coward while you get to live as one. John Boyne tumbling irony coward We all are [normal]. Their idea of normal just happens to be different to some other people's idea of normal. But this is the world we live in. Some people simply cannot accept something that is outside of their experience. John Boyne different people ideas There is cruelty in the world Eliza, you can see that, can't you? It surrounds us. It breathes on us. We spend our life trying to escape it. John Boyne breathe trying world The dot that became a speck that became a blob that became a figure that became a boy John Boyne dots figures boys It's not easy making a living as a writer, and for many years I worked at a Waterstones in Dublin. It was a good environment for an aspiring writer, with lots of events and authors appearing. John Boyne dublin events years I was a very quiet child, quite introverted, really. Independent, yes; I didn't need a lot of supervision. Less so than I did when I got older, maybe. But I was a bookish child, not surprisingly. I could sit quite happily in a corner for hours and entertain myself with books. John Boyne independent book children Children's authors don't talk down or patronise their younger readers. John Boyne younger down talk children People try to glorify war, particularly those who aren't actually fighting in them. People tend to make heroes of those who are fighting in them. John Boyne try fighting war people I am opposed to war, to killing people, to any kind of hatred and violence. John Boyne i-am violence war people It's a wonderful thing to write for children. John Boyne thing write wonderful children I move between the two: I write an adult novel, and then I write a children's book. I quite enjoy that. It's a nice change of pace each time. John Boyne enjoy change time children I can remember being eight, and I like writing about that age of innocence when children still have a sense of wonder. John Boyne i-can age remember children I wrote my first book at 20, but my whole focus from about the age of 12 was to be a writer. John Boyne first focus age book I suppose books are my real passion in life. John Boyne books passion real life
