Mark Haddon

“Being clever was when you looked at how things were and used the evidence to work out something new.”

“Reading is a conversation. All books talk. But a good book listens as well.”

“On the fifth day, which was a Sunday, it rained very hard. I like it when it rains hard. It sounds like white noise everywhere, which is like silence but not empty.”

“I think prime numbers are like life. They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them.”

“And I know I can do this because I went to London on my own, and because I solved the mystery…and I was brave and I wrote a book and that means I can do anything.”

“I find people confusing.”

“Sometimes we get sad about things and we don't like to tell other people that we are sad about them. We like to keep it a secret.”

“My memory is like a film. That is why I am really good at remembering things, like the conversations I have.”

“I think that the special thing about literature is that you can try to explain the world through a story.”

“And it's best if you know a good deal about the things you're writing about.”

“A good book is an escape.”

“Lots of things are mysteries. But that doesn't mean there isn't an answer to them.”

“Metaphors are lies.”