John Burdett Quotes & Sayings

“It is quite amazing how hard the subconscious works when it is made to understand that this life is not a rehearsal, there is no safety net and no assurance of any final closure. It is also quite appalling to realize how catatonic the imagination can become when we hedge our bets, opt for the safer direction at every fork in the path.”

“I think it is immensely difficult to get the U.S. interested in non-U.S. topics. I don't think this is because the average American reader is disinterested, but more because of publishers playing it safe: if a thriller based in L.A. is a sure winner, why spend money plugging one based in Paris - or Bangkok?”

“In Southeast Asia the world is understood to be a vast, complex network of interdependent relationships. So when global capitalism makes it impossible for small-time rice farmers to feed their families and make a living, it is a natural thing for anyone in the family who can find an alternative source of income to do so.”

“There are plenty of brilliant people who are too stressed out to read challenging literary novels.”

“Las Vegas is the expression, in glitter and concrete, of America's brittle and mutating id.”

“Expecting to be wrong about most things most of the time brings, finally, the kind of humility that leads to peace. I think.”

“If the world is telling you you're successful, but you don't feel it, you might as well have failed.”

“In the West, we've lost our intuitive understanding of how poverty shapes thinking.”

“The world other than as advertised can be an amazing place.”

“To a Buddhist, contradictions only exist in a mind that has been forced to cultivate them.”