Happy Birthday, Patrick Gale, born 31 January 1962.
Five Quotes
- I’m under no illusions that the short story is an easy form simply because of its brevity. The few that succeed somehow pack the wallop of a novel into a tiny space.
- It’s very depressing to hear people say that they read to relax and to fall asleep; what writers want to hear is that reading makes readers so keyed up that they can’t possibly sleep until they’ve read another chapter!
- I worry sometimes that we’re apt to confuse forgiveness with forgetfulness. The potency of forgiveness comes precisely from the fact that it must be done while being goaded by an unhappy memory.
- Like all their peers they went about things in the reverse order to the practice of their parents generation. They had sex, realised they got on really well then fell in love.
- Try stepping right outside your comfort zone just for once, maybe reading a detective or a science fiction book if that’s something you normally avoid or a novel which seems to be aimed at the opposite sex. Reading is like any exercise in that its muscles get flabby unless they’re challenged occasionally.
Patrick Gale is an English author. His novels include Rough Music, Notes From An Exhibition, and A Perfectly Good Man.
Source for Image: Author Photo credit: Jillian Edelstein
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