Quotes by Novelist | Beyond Motive

top of page

Quotes by Novelist

"You your own best thing, Sethe. You are."

"You your own best thing, Sethe. You are."

Toni Morrison, American Novelist

Self, Identity, Love, Hope

1871

"What's the book like?""Well, some of it's twaddle, but mostly it's just piffle. Cheers!"

"What's the book like?""Well, some of it's twaddle, but mostly it's just piffle. Cheers!"

David Mitchell, British Novelist

Communication, Criticism, Opinion, Truth, Humor

516

"Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy."

"Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy."

Franz Kafka, Austrian Novelist

Politics, Bureaucracy, Revolution

447

"If there is a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, you must be the one to write it."

"If there is a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, you must be the one to write it."

Toni Morrison, American Novelist

Creativity, Want

385

"To live without Hope is to Cease to live."

"To live without Hope is to Cease to live."

Fyodor Dostoevsky, Russian Novelist

384

"The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity."

"The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity."

Leo Tolstoy, Russian Novelist

Life, Humanity, Meaning

332

"...reality, however utopian, is something from which people feel the need of taking pretty frequent holidays...."

"...reality, however utopian, is something from which people feel the need of taking pretty frequent holidays...."

Aldous Huxley, English Novelist

Escape, Reality, Holiday, Needs

321

"It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation."

"It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation."

Herman Melville, American Novelist

Wisdom, Imitation, Originality, Succeed

271

"If you were to destroy the belief in immortality in mankind, not only love but every living force on which the continuation of all life in the world depended, would dry up at once."

"If you were to destroy the belief in immortality in mankind, not only love but every living force on which the continuation of all life in the world depended, would dry up at once."

Fyodor Dostoevsky, Russian Novelist

Life, Love, Belief, Force

265

"I have the true feeling of myself only when I am unbearably unhappy."

"I have the true feeling of myself only when I am unbearably unhappy."

Franz Kafka, Austrian Novelist

Emotional, Feeling

242

"There is a condition worse than blindness, and that is, seeing something that isn't there."

"There is a condition worse than blindness, and that is, seeing something that isn't there."

Thomas Hardy, English Novelist

Appearance, Blindness

239

"To know ourselves, is agreed by all to be the most useful Learning; the first Lessons, therefore, given us ought to be on that Subject."

"To know ourselves, is agreed by all to be the most useful Learning; the first Lessons, therefore, given us ought to be on that Subject."

Eliza Haywood, British Novelist

Learning, First

226

"My countrymen have the right to shake my hand and talk to me if they so wish. Don't forget that their support and their reading of my works is what brought me the Nobel prize."

"My countrymen have the right to shake my hand and talk to me if they so wish. Don't forget that their support and their reading of my works is what brought me the Nobel prize."

Naguib Mahfouz, Egyptian Novelist

Reading, Forget, Right, Support

221

"Without literature my life would be miserable."

"Without literature my life would be miserable."

Naguib Mahfouz, Egyptian Novelist

Life, Literature

216

"O, what a tangled web we weave when first we practise to deceive!"

"O, what a tangled web we weave when first we practise to deceive!"

Walter Scott, Scottish Novelist

Behavior, First

215

"I never yet heard man or woman much abused that I was not inclined to think the better of them, and to transfer the suspicion or dislike to the one who found pleasure in pointing out the defects of another."

"I never yet heard man or woman much abused that I was not inclined to think the better of them, and to transfer the suspicion or dislike to the one who found pleasure in pointing out the defects of another."

Jane Porter, Irish Novelist

Man, Pleasure, Suspicion, Woman

214

"The relationship to one's fellow man is the relationship of prayer, the relationship to oneself is the relationship of striving; it is from prayer that one draws the strength for one's striving."

"The relationship to one's fellow man is the relationship of prayer, the relationship to oneself is the relationship of striving; it is from prayer that one draws the strength for one's striving."

Franz Kafka, Austrian Novelist

Strength, Man, Prayer

213

"The heart, like the stomach, wants a varied diet."

"The heart, like the stomach, wants a varied diet."

Gustave Flaubert, French Novelist

Dieting, Diet, Heart

213

"If you shut up truth, and bury it underground, it will but grow."

"If you shut up truth, and bury it underground, it will but grow."

Emile Zola, French Novelist

212

"The work of art assumes the existence of the perfect spectator, and is indifferent to the fact that no such person exists."

"The work of art assumes the existence of the perfect spectator, and is indifferent to the fact that no such person exists."

E. M. Forster, English Novelist

Art, Work, Existence, Fact

211

"A word after a word after a word is power."

"A word after a word after a word is power."

Margaret Atwood, Canadian Novelist

210

"When thinking about companions gone, we feel ourselves doubly alone."

"When thinking about companions gone, we feel ourselves doubly alone."

Walter Scott, Scottish Novelist

210

"Love can consign us to hell or to paradise, but it always takes us somewhere."

"Love can consign us to hell or to paradise, but it always takes us somewhere."

Paulo Coelho, Brazilian Novelist

Love, Paradise, Hell

206

"I was sent to a school because my father was already aware that his days were numbered, and he was anxious for me to acquire a good education and follow in his footsteps."

"I was sent to a school because my father was already aware that his days were numbered, and he was anxious for me to acquire a good education and follow in his footsteps."

Sigrid Undset, Norwegian Novelist

Education, Father, Footsteps, School

204

"The problem with marriage is that it ends every night after making love, and it must be rebuilt every morning before breakfast."

"The problem with marriage is that it ends every night after making love, and it must be rebuilt every morning before breakfast."

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Colombian Novelist

Marriage, Love, Night

201

"One of the first conditions of happiness is that the link between Man and Nature shall not be broken."

"One of the first conditions of happiness is that the link between Man and Nature shall not be broken."

Leo Tolstoy, Russian Novelist

Happiness, Nature, First, Man

198

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."

Antoine de Saint-Exupery, French Novelist

Nothing, Perfection

198

"War is not an adventure. It is a disease. It is like typhus."

"War is not an adventure. It is a disease. It is like typhus."

Antoine de Saint-Exupery, French Novelist

War, Adventure, Disease

195

"The clever men at Oxford, know all that there is to be knowed. But they none of them know one half as much, as intelligent Mr. Toad."

"The clever men at Oxford, know all that there is to be knowed. But they none of them know one half as much, as intelligent Mr. Toad."

Kenneth Grahame, Scottish Novelist

194

"We used the Western style to express our own themes and stories. But don't forget that our heritage includes The Thousand and One Nights."

"We used the Western style to express our own themes and stories. But don't forget that our heritage includes The Thousand and One Nights."

Naguib Mahfouz, Egyptian Novelist

Cultural, Forget, Style

194

"Autumn arrives in early morning, but spring at the close of a winter day."

"Autumn arrives in early morning, but spring at the close of a winter day."

Elizabeth Bowen, Irish Novelist

Change, Autumn, Day, Spring, Winter

193

"Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy."

"Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy."

Guillaume Apollinaire, French Novelist

Happiness, Now, Pursuit

192

"If the infinity of the sea may call out thus, perhaps when a man is growing old, calls come to him, too, from another infinity still darker and more deeply mysterious; and the more he is wearied by life the dearer are those calls to him."

"If the infinity of the sea may call out thus, perhaps when a man is growing old, calls come to him, too, from another infinity still darker and more deeply mysterious; and the more he is wearied by life the dearer are those calls to him."

Henryk Sienkiewicz, Polish Novelist

Life, Infinity, Man, May

191

"All one's inventions are true, you can be sure of that. Poetry is as exact a science as geometry."

"All one's inventions are true, you can be sure of that. Poetry is as exact a science as geometry."

Gustave Flaubert, French Novelist

Poetry, Science, Geometry, Inventions

190

"We are like a woman with a difficult pregnancy. We have to rebuild the social classes in Egypt, and we must change the way things were."

"We are like a woman with a difficult pregnancy. We have to rebuild the social classes in Egypt, and we must change the way things were."

Naguib Mahfouz, Egyptian Novelist

Change, Pregnancy, Woman

189

"What happens is that your wretched memory remembers the words and forgets what's behind them."

"What happens is that your wretched memory remembers the words and forgets what's behind them."

Augusto Roa Bastos, Paraguayan Novelist

189

"For every expert there is an equal and opposite expert."

"For every expert there is an equal and opposite expert."

Jasper Fforde, British Novelist

Relativity, Expertise, Opposition, Knowledge

189

"It was a good place for getting lost in, a city no one ever knew, a city explored from the neutral heart outward, until after many years, it defined itself into a jumble of clearings separated by stretches of the unknown, through which the narrowest of paths had been cut."

"It was a good place for getting lost in, a city no one ever knew, a city explored from the neutral heart outward, until after many years, it defined itself into a jumble of clearings separated by stretches of the unknown, through which the narrowest of paths had been cut."

V. S. Naipaul, Trinidadian Novelist

188

"To be a poet is a condition rather than a profession."

"To be a poet is a condition rather than a profession."

Robert Graves, Irish Novelist

Art, Profession

187

"The hero of the book does long to experience God. But his conception of God is very western."

"The hero of the book does long to experience God. But his conception of God is very western."

Orhan Pamuk, Turkish Novelist

Experience, God

187

"Suffering is the sole origin of consciousness."

"Suffering is the sole origin of consciousness."

Fyodor Dostoevsky, Russian Novelist

Suffering, Consciousness, Origin, Pain

187

"The world is always in movement."

"The world is always in movement."

V. S. Naipaul, Trinidadian Novelist

186

"I read the Odyssey because it was the story of a man who returned home after being absent for more than twenty years and was recognized only by his dog."

"I read the Odyssey because it was the story of a man who returned home after being absent for more than twenty years and was recognized only by his dog."

Guillermo Cabrera Infante, Cuban Novelist

Home, Being, Man, Years

185

"The house a woman creates is a Utopia. She can't help it - can't help trying to interest her nearest and dearest not in happiness itself but in the search for it."

"The house a woman creates is a Utopia. She can't help it - can't help trying to interest her nearest and dearest not in happiness itself but in the search for it."

Marguerite Duras, French Novelist

Happiness, Help, Interest, Trying

185

"The Bristol Channel was always my guide, and I was always able to draw an imaginary line from my bed to our house over in Wales. It was a great comfort."

"The Bristol Channel was always my guide, and I was always able to draw an imaginary line from my bed to our house over in Wales. It was a great comfort."

Roald Dahl, British Novelist

Childhood, Bed, Comfort

184

"When a man is discontented with himself, it has one advantage - that it puts him into an excellent frame of mind for making a bargain."

"When a man is discontented with himself, it has one advantage - that it puts him into an excellent frame of mind for making a bargain."

Laurence Sterne, Irish Novelist

Society, Bargain, Man, Mind

184

"Beauty is the greatest seducer of man."

"Beauty is the greatest seducer of man."

Paulo Coelho, Brazilian Novelist

183

"So long as you have food in your mouth, you have solved all questions for the time being."

"So long as you have food in your mouth, you have solved all questions for the time being."

Franz Kafka, Austrian Novelist

Food, Time, Being, Questions

181

"All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love."

"All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love."

Leo Tolstoy, Russian Novelist

180

"If you start by promising what you don't even have yet, you'll lose your desire to work towards getting it."

"If you start by promising what you don't even have yet, you'll lose your desire to work towards getting it."

Paulo Coelho, Brazilian Novelist

Success, Work, Desire

178

bottom of page