John Boyne
John Boyne
John Boyneis an Irish novelist. He is the author of nine novels for adults and five novels for younger readers. His novels are published in 50 languages...
NationalityIrish
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth30 April 1971
CountryIreland
running children growing-up
I started reading Dickens when I was about 12, and I particularly liked all of the orphan books. I always liked books about young people who are left on their own with the world, and the four children's books I've written feature that very thing: children that are abandoned by their families or running away from their families or ignored by their families and having to grow up quicker than they should, like David Copperfield - having to be the hero of their own story.
employed entirely far term
What makes a classic is difficult to define. It's entirely subjective, of course. And the term is employed far too promiscuously.
adult change enjoy move nice pace quite time
I move between the two: I write an adult novel, and then I write a children's book. I quite enjoy that. It's a nice change of pace each time.
people unless
Unless you're very boring, I think most people who've lived long enough have something in their past which will never go away.
glorify people tend war
People try to glorify war, particularly those who aren't actually fighting in them. People tend to make heroes of those who are fighting in them.
life suppose
I suppose books are my real passion in life.
buy
I don't buy into the idea that an Irish writer should write about Ireland, or a gay writer should write about being gay.
age children
I can remember being eight, and I like writing about that age of innocence when children still have a sense of wonder.
charles christmas dickens excite failed teenage throughout
Throughout my teenage years, I read 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens every December. It was a story that never failed to excite me, for as well as being a Dickens enthusiast, I have always loved ghost stories.
authors talk younger
Children's authors don't talk down or patronise their younger readers.
age wrote
I wrote my first book at 20, but my whole focus from about the age of 12 was to be a writer.
It's a wonderful thing to write for children.
opposed war
I am opposed to war, to killing people, to any kind of hatred and violence.
war cnn television
War today is such a more visible thing. We see it on television, on CNN. In 1914, war was a concept.