Andrew O'Hagan
Andrew O'Hagan
ideas people should
The idea that people in novels should be more sympathetic than people in life simply baffles me.
children believe age
Like children all over the world, by the age of 10 I'd come to believe that most of the really humane creatures were not really human at all.
football brother boys
I wasn't like other boys. At any rate, I wasn't like my three elder brothers: they excelled at football and they were like other boys, going up to bed each night hugging annuals filled with stories about the glories of Pele and Danny McGrain.
morning thinking sitting-down
I think I am becoming obsessive-compulsive. David Beckham apparently turns all the Diet Coke cans in his fridge to face the same way every morning, and I nerdily sharpen all the pencils in my pot before sitting down to work.
shame crime know-yourself
It's not a crime not to know yourself. It's not a crime to send life away. It's just a shame.
names years once-upon-a-time
Once upon a time, I thought that politics was the name we gave to our higher instincts. That was before Margaret Thatcher, who came to power when I was 11 years old.
believe crippled known love novelists people thrive
I don't believe in the meteoric culture of anxiety, generally. Obviously, some people have it, some people are crippled by it, but most of the novelists I've ever known are in love with influence. They thrive on it.