James Clavell
James Clavell
James Clavell, born Charles Edmund Dumaresq Clavell, was an Australian-born Britishnovelist, screenwriter, director, and World War II veteran and prisoner of war. Clavell is best known for his epic Asian Saga series of novels and their televised adaptations, along with such films as The Great Escapeand To Sir, with Love...
NationalityAustralian
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth10 October 1924
CountryAustralia
book reading writing
I write short stories. They may appear big in size, but when you consider it, they're four or five novels in one. ... In return for picking up one of my books, I'm trying to give them value for their money. ... the goal of writing any book is to create the illusion that what you are reading is reality and you're part of it.
fear laughter laughing
So much of "normal, civilized" life is bull that you can't imagine. ... What frightens you, doesn't frighten me, what frightens me, you'd laugh at.
important world truth-is
The search for the truth is the most important work in the whole world, and the most dangerous.
enemy planning destruction
.., by universal custom, your enemy is never more polite than when he is planning or has planned your destruction.
thinking discipline effort
To think bad thoughts is really the easiest thing in the world. If you leave your mind to itself it will spiral down into ever increasing unhappiness. To think good thoughts, however, requires effort. This is one of the things that discipline and training is all about.
joy shoguns edges
Only by living at the edge of death can you understand the indescribable joy of life - Shogun.
karma life-and-death
Life and death are the same...Leave karma to karma.
believe tomorrow helping
What can I do to help thee?" he asked. "Believe there is a tomorrow.
interesting knows
You never know . . . that's what makes life interesting.
karma strong hate
Karma is the beginning of knowledge. Next is patience. Patience is very important. The strong are the patient ones, Anjin-san. patience means holding back your inclination to the seven emotions: hate, adoration, joy, anxiety, anger, grief, fear. If you don't give way to the seven, you're patient, then you'll soon understand all manner of things and be in harmony with Eternity.
faces stranger should
Anger is something you should only vent in front of intimates, and friends and relations. Never be angry in front of strangers because you lose face.
strong hate grief
Patience means restraining yourself. There are seven emotions, Joy, anger, anxiety, adoration, grief, fear, and hate. If a man doesn't give way to these, he's patient. I'm not as strong as I might be but I'm patient.
stories middle ifs
All stories have a beginning, a middle and an ending, and if they're any good, the ending is a beginning.
real heart men
It's a saying they have, that a man has a false heart in his mouth for the world to see, another in his breast to show to his special friends and his family, and the real one, the true one, the secret one, which is never known to anyone except to himself alone, hidden only God knows where.