Literary Birthday – 20 May – Justin Cartwright

Justin Cartwright was born on 20 May 1943 and died on 3 December 2018.

Justin Cartwright Quotes

1. This is the strange thing about South Africa – for all its corruption and crime, it seems to offer a stimulating sense that anything is possible.
2. I’m not an especially male novelist, but I think men are better at writing about men, and the same is true for women. Reading Saul Bellow is a revelation, but he can’t write women. There are exceptions, like Marilynne Robinson‘s Gilead, but generally, I think it’s true.
3. You can’t believe anything that’s written in an historical novel, and yet the author’s job is always to create a believable world that readers can enter. It’s especially so, I think, for writers of historical fiction.
4. Consciousness – that, to me, is the theme of the modern novel.
5. A good novel is something that challenges perception, that allows you to see the world anew through a different point of view.

Justin Cartwright was a British novelist, originally from South Africa. He was the author of thirteen novels, which blended adventure and satire. They include Up Against the Night and The Promise of Happiness. They also include the Booker-shortlisted In Every Face I Meet and the Whitbread Novel Award-winner Leading the Cheers. Cartwright was appointed an MBE.

Source for image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Justin_Cartwright.jpg and quotes

by Amanda Patterson

Are you interested in more authors’ birthdays? Please click here: Literary Birthday Calendar

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