The Night Manager

by John Le Carré

‘A man of parts. I admire that. There’s not a lot of Renaissance blokes about these days. Too many specialists.’

There’s no such thing as a decision. There never was. There’s whether you’ve had a good day or a bad day, there’s going forward because there’s nothing behind and running because if you stand still any longer you’ll fall over.

She had acquired the recklessness of sexual obsession.

That’s how it used to be in Ireland, he remembered: after a bang, the old noises held their breath until it was safe to speak again.

Pat took to being an outcast like other people take to fame and money. When they told Pat not to bother with coming into the office till this thing was cleared up, Pat thanked them, shook all their hands, had a bath and drank a bottle of Bushmills.