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" Any author of fiction will tell you that characters don't need to be told what to do. "

Alexander McCall Smith

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" I would never inflict my bassoon on anybody really other than the long suffering audiences that come to the concerts of The Really Terrible Orchestra; which actually is really terrible. "

Alexander McCall Smith

" I have three older sisters, so we were a reasonably large family and, in general, a happy one. "

Alexander McCall Smith

" Well, I'd say all of us are a combination of moods and emotions. In my day to day life I don't go around skipping, but at times one can feel sheer exhilarating joy at the world. "

Alexander McCall Smith

" I've certainly always had a very high regard for Botswana and so I paint a very good picture of the country and I've never pretended to be painting an entirely realistic picture. "

Alexander McCall Smith

" I've always had a creative urge and I get immense satisfaction from creating something because it feels like I'm making sense of the world and imposing order on it. "

Alexander McCall Smith

" The Okavango Delta is an astonishing sight: the great Okavango River, rather than flow towards the sea, flows inland, into the sands of the Kalahari. "

Alexander McCall Smith

" That my philosophy of life is, as far as possible, one of enjoyment. I'm not nihilistic. "

Alexander McCall Smith

" I think people in Botswana are pleased that my books paint a positive picture of their lives and portray the country as being very special. They've made a great success of their country, and the people are fed up with the constant reporting of only the problems and poverty of the continent. They welcome something which puts the positive side. "

Alexander McCall Smith

" Every single day, I get letters - very moving, overwhelming letters - testifying how much my books have meant to people in times of crisis in their lives, when they were very ill, say. If I ever doubted that writing could play an important part in people's lives, I don't doubt that now. "

Alexander McCall Smith

" Manners are the basic building blocks of civil society. "

Alexander McCall Smith

" One of the most destructive things that's happening in modern society is that we are losing our sense of the bonds that bind people together - which can lead to nightmares of social collapse. "

Alexander McCall Smith

" I'm very interested in tea. I wouldn't mind being involved in some aspect of the tea industry. "

Alexander McCall Smith

" Painters aren't expected to paint bleak pictures, are they? "

Alexander McCall Smith

" Serial novels have an unexpected effect; they hook the writer as well as the reader. "

Alexander McCall Smith

" But you cannot expect every writer to dwell on human suffering. I think my books do deal with grave issues. People who say they are too positive probably haven't read them. "

Alexander McCall Smith

" As a writer I've learned certain lessons. One of them is to be careful about how you put a view, and to bear in mind how easily and readily you'll be misinterpreted. "

Alexander McCall Smith

" It seems to me that we're in danger of losing sight of certain basic civic values in society by allowing the growth of a whole generation of people who really have no sense of attachment to society. "

Alexander McCall Smith

" I'm interested in character and dialogue and exchange of ideas. "

Alexander McCall Smith

" It's through the small things that we develop our moral imagination, so that we can understand the sufferings of others. "

Alexander McCall Smith

" Who can't like pigs? They're wonderful creatures! I've always liked pigs. "

Alexander McCall Smith

" Wherever I go in the world, people all know about Scotland Street and are always asking me about what's going to happen to the characters next. "

Alexander McCall Smith

" You do not have to ladle on the impasto to make a point about human frailty or ambitions. "

Alexander McCall Smith

" The wider your readership, the greater the chances of offending your readers. "

Alexander McCall Smith

" Every novel presents a slice of life. A noir policier for example presents one slice, one that perhaps addresses social dysfunction or some sort of pathology, while mine present a slice that is more upbeat and affirmative. "

Alexander McCall Smith