Chris Cleave

“Studying psychology is fun because you're always looking for the same things I think a writer should be looking for, which is the story behind the story.”

“If I can't write it would be as if I died.”

“The reason why I love people, and writing about them, is because they don't always respond with hate and anger. If they did I wouldn't have a story to tell. Who wants to know about someone who was brutalised and became brutal? I'm interested in the exceptions.”

“There's what people say, and there's what people mean, and I like to explore the difference between the two.”

“I move we get more wine,' Alistair said. 'What does the panel think?'...It was obvious that the entire war could be solved in this way. The trick would be to reach for a corkscrew instead, every time some brass hat ordered artillery.”

“They spoke of small things at first, since it was best, when reattaching threads, to begin with the easiest knots.”

“There was less of him now. There was less of them all. Officers and men dragged themselves around in uniforms three sizes too big, new holes punched into every belt, every collar hanging loose. They were a garrison of skinny boys performing a play about soldiers.”

“I suppose we ought to be getting home, in any case.”“Oh god, is it wartime already?”“Look on the bright side: it’ll be dinner when we get back.”

“I'm always determined that as a novelist I'm going to go out there and research my characters very thoroughly before I start writing.”

“The first problem of war was that no one was any good at it yet.”

“Exposing corruption, brandishing truth.”