Important Quotes

The important question is not, what will yield to man a few scattered pleasures, but what will render his life happy on the whole amount.

A man never feels more important than when he receives a telegram containing more than ten words.

If you followed the media you'd think that everybody in Africa was starving to death, and that's not the case; so it's important to engage with the other Africa.

Sometimes novels are considered 'important' in the way medicine is - they taste terrible and are difficult to get down your throat, but are good for you.

The best novels are those that are important without being like medicine; they have something to say, are expansive and intelligent but never forget to be entertaining and to have character and emotion at their centre.