John Banville Quotes

I feel like people might be slightly less inclined to hate me as much as they did in the past, and I think part of that is selling fewer records.

Fame often makes a writer vain, but seldom makes him proud.

The more you win, the less people like you.

When I got successful and people started talking about me, I didn't want anyone thinking I thought I was a 'big time Charlie.'

Maybe I'm just flying my own little ego ship, but sometimes people resent talent.

I'm a big deal That's why I get more head than a pigtail

When you have any kind of success in life, that's like the most dangerous moment that you're in because you're going to tend to think wow, I can just keep repeating what I've done. I'm a great person. People love me. All of the sudden they're giving me all of this attention. You get drunk on it and you lose your sense of balance and your sense of detachment. I know it's happened to me.

After Stand By Me came out, people were telling me, 'You're so good,' 'You're going to be a star,' and things like that. You can't think about it. If you take it the wrong way, you can really get high on yourself. People get so lost when that happens to them. They may think they have everything under control, but everything is really out of control. Their lives are totally in pieces.

Success makes so many people hate you. I wish it wasn't that way. It would be wonderful to enjoy success without seeing envy in the eyes of those around you.

As for fame, it can go to your head and you can become full of yourself.

I did not become great by association of The Beatles! Beatles make Maharishi great? Pah! It is a waste of thought.

Sometimes with success comes some crazy that goes along with it.

Bonfire of the Vanities: The lesson of that book is, never start believing your own press.

The higher your profile becomes, the more aware you are that people out there might hate you.

Success is the space one occupies in the newspaper. Success is one day's insolence.

I sold a million books because I have a lot of fans, not because people hate me.

Am I a rock star? Yeah, I guess.

Fame is very corrosive and you have to guard very strictly against it.

If you take a loud pride in anything, people will rightly shoot you down.

There are some people who hate my guts. But that goes with the territory.

I've always had confidence. Before I was famous, that confidence got me into trouble. After I got famous, it just got me into more trouble.

… vain and malignant

It all goes completely to your head.

Everybody wants to be me. What can I say?

If you are too into the fans and adoration and the world thinking you are the greatest, then you do not perform well.