I didn't hang around films. I don't know if I'd ever seen Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes. Patricia Highsmith More Quotes by Patricia Highsmith More Quotes From Patricia Highsmith My imagination functions much better when I don't have to speak to people. Patricia Highsmith quiet-peoplecommunicationimagination The first person you should think of pleasing, in writing a book, is yourself. If you can amuse yourself for the length of time it takes to write a book, the publisher and the readers can and will come later. Patricia Highsmith writingbookthinking My New Year’s Eve Toast: to all the devils, lusts, passions, greeds, envies, loves, hates, strange desires, enemies ghostly and real, the army of memories, with which I do battle — may they never give me peace. (New Year's Eve, 1947) Patricia Highsmith new-yearhatememories Life is a long failure of understanding ... a long, mistaken shutting of the heart. Patricia Highsmith understandingheartlong Everything human is alien to me. Patricia Highsmith alienshumans Each book is, in a sense, an argument with myself, and I would write it, whether it is ever published or not. Patricia Highsmith argumentwritingbook I should love to do a novel, about one abnormal character seeing present-day life, very ordinary life, yet arresting through it, abnormality, until at the end the reader sees, and with little reluctance, that he is not abnormal at all, and that the main character might as well be himself. Patricia Highsmith abnormalordinarycharacter And no book, and possibly no painting, when it is finished, is ever exactly like the first dream of it. Patricia Highsmith dreambookart For neither life nor nature cares if justice is ever done or not. Patricia Highsmith umpiresdonejustice One situation – maybe one alone – could drive me to murder: family life, togetherness. Patricia Highsmith family-lifetogethernessmurder In view of the fact that I surround myself with numbskulls now, I shall die among numbskulls, and on my deathbed shall be surrounded by numbskulls who will not understand what I am saying ... Whom am I sleeping with these days ? Franz Kafka. Patricia Highsmith viewssleepfacts Every man is his own law court and punishes himself enough. Patricia Highsmith crimelawmen But there were too many points at which the other self could invade the self he wanted to preserve, and there were too many forms of invasion: certain words, sounds, lights, actions his hands or feet performed, and if he did nothing at all, heard and saw nothing, the shouting of some triumphant inner voice that shocked him and cowed him. Patricia Highsmith lightselfhands This is what I like, sitting at a table and watching people go by. It does something to your outlook on life. The Anglo-Saxons make a great mistake not staring at people from a sidewalk table. Patricia Highsmith outlook-on-lifemistakepeople How was it possible to be afraid and in love... The two things did not go together. How was it possible to be afraid, when the two of them grew stronger together every day? And every night. Every night was different, and every morning. Together they possessed a miracle. Patricia Highsmith morningnighttwo I have Graham Greene's telephone number, but I wouldn't dream of using it. I don't seek out writers because we all want to be alone. Patricia Highsmith dreamwantnumbers What was it to love someone, what was love exactly, and why did it end or not end? Those were the real questions, and who could answer them? Patricia Highsmith realendsanswers It always gets late with you. - Is that a compliment? Patricia Highsmith latecompliment I think people often try to find through sex things that are much easier to find in other ways. Patricia Highsmith sexpeoplethinking The kiss became the narrowed center of the still point of the turning world, so that even the park was turning in comparison to the still peace at their lips. Patricia Highsmith parkskissingworld
