Philip Kerr
Philip Kerr
Philip Kerris a British author...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth22 February 1956
legal naturally quite
The most interesting legal philosophy is German, so naturally I went to Germany, particularly to Berlin, quite a bit.
berlin bigger greater history sort taking
The fascination for me writing about crime in Berlin was the idea that there was this much bigger crime taking place in the background, a fantastically epochal moment in history which is just going on. That just sort of makes the whole thing have a greater resonance.
diligent might quite thrown
If I weren't a writer, I think I might have thrown myself more enthusiastically into advertising. But, it's difficult to imagine being a diligent copywriter. It would be quite exasperating for me.
easily flow onto text transfer
I write by hand and then transfer the text onto the computer. I like the process of actually having a pen in my hand. Things flow more easily for me that way.
anyone dirty future independence money people scotland scottish supports
I will say that anyone who supports Scottish independence should go to Athens. Because nothing works. It is a disaster. It is a ruined, dirty place where people do not have money or future prospects. The day one after independence, Scotland would be worse.
borrow friday member money nearly pocket spend took
I was a member of Corstorphine Library in Edinburgh, and every Friday night, my parents took me there to borrow books. I also used to spend nearly all my pocket money on books.
adult believe children deal instead prefer respecting strongly
I prefer to write books for children instead of reading them. But I do strongly believe in childhood and in respecting childhood innocence. I don't like books for children that deal with adult themes.
bad believe decent good human realistic until
I don't think any of us know how we would react until we were put in a situation where we have to do something bad or do something good. I think I'd like to believe I'd act like a decent human being, but I'm realistic to know I don't know.
best bit gives handled license ourselves point tend
Being British, we tend to think of ourselves as America's best friend. And as your best friend, that gives us a little bit of license to point out things that could have been handled better.
crime fit history learn move obligation period personal repeat slightly suffers tradition treading unreliable
A lot of crime writing suffers from treading water. I feel an obligation to move the character on and not repeat myself. I try to fit him into a different period and a different agenda. That way, you learn slightly more about his personal history in the tradition of the unreliable narrator. It makes it more challenging to write.
When I feel I'm repeating myself, I'll probably pack it in.
knows presume reader
There is always a temptation to take things for granted, to get lazy, and to presume that the reader knows more than they do.
authentic best deliver likely
The mark of a writer is to make a story as likely as possible, and I've done my best to deliver authentic atmosphere.
people politics sports
Sport seems to be much more important to people than politics.