Mark Haddon Quotes

Most people, I've noticed, are instinctively harsh to strangers. They expect every approach to be an attack, every question to be an interruption.

He only fears men who does not know them, and he who avoids them will soon misjudge them.

I'm more the sort of person who doesn't like hugging strangers because we don't know each other, so we shouldn't.

I'm more interested in books than people, and I always expect everybody else to be, but they're not.

The whole art of flirting has simply disappeared. This probably will do further damage. If we're going to become so uptight that we can't say nice things to each other, then we've had it!

I always have doubts. I am weary of people.

It is in my nature to be a little shy. It takes time for me to talk to people and trust them.

Making new friends is tough. You don't really know who to trust when you're away from people that you love a lot.

It is always terrible to be told to go play with people one doesn't know.

Never assume people's motives. It's the easiest way to find yourself upset over nothing or misjudging people

I envy people who have the capacity to sit with another human being and find them endlessly interesting, I would rather watch TV. Of course this becomes eventually known to the other person.

Poor strangers, they have so much to be afraid of.

The etiquette question that troubles so many fastidious people New Year's Day is: How am I ever going to face those people again?

I was hesitant to approach people. I'm socially awkward. But I was working on a number of memorials, and finally it dawned on me: These are memorials to people who wrote, so I should use their writing. That's how I started to quit.

At times, I get very lonely because people are afraid to talk to me or don't wait for me to write a response. I'm shy and tongue-tied at times. I find it difficult to talk to people who I don't know.

I want to undo this. To make it right. But I have no idea how. I don't seem to know how to open up to people without getting the door slammed in my face. So I do nothing.

I love a lot of people, understand none of them.

I don't always understand other people's motives. I will repeat that for my own benefit, if you don't mind. I don't always understand other people's motives.

These days I don't know who really likes me. I always assume most people are bullshitting me.

People are afraid of things they don't understand.

People always fear what they don't understand, Evangeline. History proves that.

Don't talk to strangers. Sure, unless you want to meet anyone ever.

Take my word for it: More people will like you if you believe that people are good until proven bad.

We cannot tell some people what it is believe, partly because they are too stupid to understand, partly because we are too proudly vague to explain.