"Remember Graham Green's dictum that childhood is the bank balance of the writer? I think that all writers feel alienated. Most of us go back to an alienated childhood in some way or another. I know that I do"

John Le Carre is recommending that all writers have actually experienced some kind of alienation in their childhood. He is referencing Graham Green's idea that youth is the financial institution equilibrium of the writer, meaning that the experiences of childhood years are the source of an author's imagination. Le Carre suggests that he himself has experienced alienation in his very own childhood, which this has actually provided motivation for his writing. He suggests that this is true for all writers, and that they can make use of their own experiences of alienation to develop significant works of art. By referencing Graham Green's rule, Le Carre is stressing the relevance of childhood experiences in the innovative procedure.