William McIlvanney

“It is a city of conspicuous smoke-stacks, factory towers and church spires, a city of handsome streets and rancid slums, a city of glittering department stores and scabby back-street markets.”

“Bigotry is the sacred weapon of the stupid.”

“The truth is a hard master. It's relentless. But it's the only one worth serving.”

“Your memories are your life. And you can't have one without the other.”

“Who the hell is anyone to look down on anyone else?”

“The past is not a foreign country. It's the one we all come from.”

“In the silence of a man's heart, he is always himself.”

“A writer's job is to tell the truth, especially the uncomfortable truths.”

“Good lies have to be a lot more plausible than the truth.”

“Glasgow is a city of stories.”

“Justice is a concept. It's not a reality.”

“Home is not a place, it is a feeling.”

“Humour is the shock-absorber of life; it helps us take the blows.”

“Books are a way to live a thousand lives.”

“A truly decent man is a man who is decent when he doesn't have to be.”

“We are all just stories in the end. Make it a good one, eh?”