George Pelecanos Quotes

“If the storytellers told it true, all stories would end in death.”

— George Pelecanos

“Soon it began to drizzle for the second time that night. The drops grew heavier and became visible in the headlights of the cars. It was said by some of the police on the scene that God was crying for the girl in the garden. To others, it was only rain. (final lines)”

— George Pelecanos

The thirst for knowledge is like a piece of ass you know you shouldn't chase; in the end, you chase it just the same.

— George Pelecanos

We get schooled by the people around us, and it stays inside us deep.

— George Pelecanos

“I'm just a man, no more enlightened than any other.”

— George Pelecanos

“A pistol ain't good for nothin' but killing other human beings, man.”

— George Pelecanos

You already been a punk. Least you can do is go out like a man. Then a dull popping sound and a quiet splash.

— George Pelecanos

“And Constantine thought: So this is how it is, at the end.”

— George Pelecanos

“In Europe, I'm recognized on the street sometimes. And that's cool, because I don't have to live there and deal with it every day. Unless you're Stephen King - a great writer, by the way, and anyone who says different knows nothing about the craft - you're more likely to be recognized in America if you play in a soap opera than if you're a novelist.”

— George Pelecanos

“Top-shelf fiction, a Crown Royal ride into the heart of Night and New York. Con Lehane's work is reminiscent of the best of Lawrence Block, which is to say that this is very good stuff, indeed.”

— George Pelecanos

“The Next Right Thing has humanity, humor, and insight to burn. Author Dan Barden takes the clay of the California hard-boiled novel and shapes it into something new.”

— George Pelecanos

“The crime part is the engine that moves the narrative and allows me to write the other things I want to write about.”

— George Pelecanos

“Any time you have poverty, joblessness, sub-par public schools, and a lack of opportunity, you're going to have a high rate of crime.”

— George Pelecanos

The most popular American fiction seems to be about successful people who win, and good crime fiction typically does not explore that world. But honestly, if all crime fiction was quality fiction, it would be taken more seriously.

— George Pelecanos

“I'm a better writer now because I've worked very hard at getting better. My long-range goal will always be to write better books.”

— George Pelecanos

“My name recognition has opened doors on the research side. I used to go into crack houses and drug markets and really bad neighborhoods by myself, routinely, and hang out. Sometimes I still do, because I don't want to attract attention. But lately, I've been riding with cops and gaining access to other types of law, like the ATF guys, just because of my name. I guess it's a smarter way to work.”

— George Pelecanos

I live in a blue-collar neighborhood, and if anyone knows what I do for a living, they don't seem to care.

— George Pelecanos

“I don't believe that murders can be "solved." I think that this is the big lie of the mystery novel, that you should close the book and feel that the world is back in order and everything's all right. I want the reader to know that the world is not all right, and maybe we ought to do something about it.”

— George Pelecanos

“I do have shout-outs to bands and musicians I like in my books, but the musical references can be misunderstood. Often, I have people listening to music that I would never listen to personally, because it fits and defines their character.”

— George Pelecanos

The worst kind of novel is one that blames other people for the racial problem in order to make the reader feel good about himself. As if it's only rich white people or Republicans or conservatives who have this disease.

— George Pelecanos

“Things seem to be at a boiling point all the time. In fact, it has been that way my whole life. I find it interesting, and I like the fact that the emotions are in your face all the time. You always know where you stand. None of that "we don't have any racial problems here" attitude that you get, say, up north. All of this is rich fodder for a crime novelist.”

— George Pelecanos

“There's a school of thought that says if you legalize drugs it will solve the problem. We're all good liberals, we said let's do it and see what happens. We wanted to be honest about it. So in our brainstorming sessions we'd say, what if? The finding was that all the negative things came out also. The answer is that we didn't believe in the full legalization of drugs. But we don't believe in the criminalization of drugs, either.”

— George Pelecanos

“What's more interesting are the dynamics between people that involve hypocrisy or ignoring each other. That's what I want to write about. I like to make people uncomfortable because it's something we should be uncomfortable about.”

— George Pelecanos

But when I do book signings and personal appearances, the audiences are mostly white. Growing up here, I expected that and understand it. Black audiences won't come out for a white writer for the most part. It really is just a fact of life.

— George Pelecanos

“I'm proud to be a crime novelist. What I've chosen is the best way to convey the questions I'm trying to raise.”

— George Pelecanos

The reason some crime writers have a chip on their shoulder about the label is because their good books are shelved beside books about nuns and birdwatchers and cats who solve crimes. Overseas, my books are reviewed alongside those of authors like Robert Stone and Don DeLillo, and I have to live and die by that comparison. They don't ghettoize crime writers in other countries, and of course they shouldn't.

— George Pelecanos