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Books are not about passing the time. They’re about other lives. Other worlds.

Alan Bennett

Why do we not care to acknowledge them? The cattle, the body count.
ALAN BENNETT

Acknowledge Care Cattle Count Foo
Our perspective on the past alters. Looking back, immediately in front of us is dead ground.
ALAN BENNETT

Alter Back Dead Front Ground Immediately Look One Past Perspective
However bad the weather, Dad never drove to church because Mam thought the sacrament might make him incapable on the return journey.
ALAN BENNETT

Church Incapable Journey Return Sacrament Weather
Of course my standards are out of date! That’s why they’re called standards.
ALAN BENNETT

Call Course Date Out Standard
I lack what the English call character, by which they mean the power to refrain.
ALAN BENNETT

Call Character English Lack Mean Power Refrain
I think the writer’s quite low down in the hierarchy really. But the fact that they took the piss out of Nicholas [Hynter] who, besides being the director, is also director of the National Theatre is, I’d have thought, slightly more risky.
ALAN BENNETT

Besides Director Down Hierarchy More Piss Place Quite Really Risky Think Took Writer
Imagine that. Per person. This means that if the time scale is diminished in proportion to that of space it would be quite possible for the whole story of Greece and Rome to be played out between farts.
ALAN BENNETT

Between Diminish Fart Imagine Impossible Person Proportion Space Time Whole Stoy
Reading is untidy, discursive and perpetually inviting.
ALAN BENNETT

Discursive Invite Perpetual Raed Untidy
A book, as it were, closes the book.
ALAN BENNETT

As Book Close Were
You don’t put your life into your books, you find it there.
ALAN BENNETT

Book Find Into Life Put
Over the years Miss Shepherd was visited by a succession of social workers so the character in the play is a composite figure.
ALAN BENNETT

Character Composite Figure Over People Play Social Succession Visit Worker Year
We started off trying to set up a small anarchist community, but people wouldn’t obey the rules.
ALAN BENNETT

Anarchist Community Obey People Rule Small Start Try
They may not have two spondees to rub together but they still want to pen their saga untrammelled by life-threatening activities like trailing round Sainsbury’s, emptying the dishwasher or going to the nativity play.
ALAN BENNETT

Dishwasher Empt Nativity Pen Play Round Saga Sainsbury Threat Trailing
The thing I think about is that once you’ve done it, you then start to think about what you’re going to do next.
ALAN BENNETT

Done Go Next Once Start Think
You always know when you’re going to arrive. If you go by car, you don’t. Apart from anything else, I prefer cycling. It puts you in a good mood, I find.
ALAN BENNETT

Always Anything Apart Arrive By Car Cycle Go Good Know Mood Prefer
The sheer endlessness of books outfaced her and she had no idea how to go on; there was no system to her reading, with one book leading to another, and often she had two or three on the go at the same time.
ALAN BENNETT

Another Book Endlessness Idea Lead Outface Raed Same Sheer System Time

Books are not about passing the time. They’re about other lives. Other worlds.

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Books are not about passing the time. They’re about other lives. Other worlds.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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