Quotes by Novelist | Beyond Motive 5/277

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Quotes by Novelist

"In Trinidad, where as new arrivals we were a disadvantaged community, that excluding idea was a kind of protection; it enabled us - for the time being, and only for the time being - to live in our own way and according to our own rules, to live in our own fading India."

"In Trinidad, where as new arrivals we were a disadvantaged community, that excluding idea was a kind of protection; it enabled us - for the time being, and only for the time being - to live in our own way and according to our own rules, to live in our own fading India."

V. S. Naipaul, Trinidadian Novelist

Time, Idea, Being, Community

16

"Whatever a person may pray for, that person prays for a miracle. Every prayer comes down to this - Almighty God, grant that two times two not equal four."

"Whatever a person may pray for, that person prays for a miracle. Every prayer comes down to this - Almighty God, grant that two times two not equal four."

Ivan Turgenev, Russian Novelist

God, May, Prayer

16

"End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass, and then you see it."

"End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass, and then you see it."

J. R. R. Tolkien, English Novelist

Spiritual, Faith, Happiness, Love, Truth

16

"I had nothing to offer anybody except my own confusion."

"I had nothing to offer anybody except my own confusion."

Jack Kerouac, American Novelist

Identity, Confusion, Nothing

16

"Realists do not fear the results of their study."

"Realists do not fear the results of their study."

Fyodor Dostoevsky, Russian Novelist

Fear, Results, Study

16

"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known."

"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known."

Charles Dickens, English Novelist

Inspirational, Rest

16

"A writer should have the precision of a poet and the imagination of a scientist."

"A writer should have the precision of a poet and the imagination of a scientist."

Vladimir Nabokov, American Novelist

Imagination, Writer

16

"Forgiveness is the giving, and so the receiving, of life."

"Forgiveness is the giving, and so the receiving, of life."

George MacDonald, Scottish Novelist

Forgiveness, Life, Giving

16

"Strictly speaking, every citizen above a certain level of income is guilty of some offense."

"Strictly speaking, every citizen above a certain level of income is guilty of some offense."

Max Frisch, Swiss Novelist

15

"No, not rich. I am a poor man with money, which is not the same thing."

"No, not rich. I am a poor man with money, which is not the same thing."

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Colombian Novelist

Money, Man, Poor

15

"He piled upon the whale's white hump the sum of all the general rage and hate felt by his whole race from Adam down; and then, as if his chest had been a mortar, he burst his hot heart's shell upon it."

"He piled upon the whale's white hump the sum of all the general rage and hate felt by his whole race from Adam down; and then, as if his chest had been a mortar, he burst his hot heart's shell upon it."

Herman Melville, American Novelist

Courage, Heart, Hate, Race

15

"The call of death is a call of love. Death can be sweet if we answer it in the affirmative, if we accept it as one of the great eternal forms of life and transformation."

"The call of death is a call of love. Death can be sweet if we answer it in the affirmative, if we accept it as one of the great eternal forms of life and transformation."

Hermann Hesse, German Novelist

Love, Death, Life

15

"A man knows when he is growing old because he begins to look like his father."

"A man knows when he is growing old because he begins to look like his father."

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Colombian Novelist

Family, Father, Man, Old

15

"Nobody deserves your tears, but whoever deserves them will not make you cry."

"Nobody deserves your tears, but whoever deserves them will not make you cry."

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Colombian Novelist

Emotional, Tears, Will

15

"The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls the butterfly."

"The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls the butterfly."

Richard Bach, American Novelist

Trust, Belief, End, Ignorance, Injustice

15

"The world outside existed in a kind of darkness; and we inquired about nothing."

"The world outside existed in a kind of darkness; and we inquired about nothing."

V. S. Naipaul, Trinidadian Novelist

Darkness, Nothing, World

15

"I am tomorrow, or some future day, what I establish today. I am today what I established yesterday or some previous day."

"I am tomorrow, or some future day, what I establish today. I am today what I established yesterday or some previous day."

James Joyce, Irish Novelist

Determinism, Day, Future, Today, Tomorrow

15

"I think like a genius, I write like a distinguished author, and I speak like a child."

"I think like a genius, I write like a distinguished author, and I speak like a child."

Vladimir Nabokov, American Novelist

15

"No man for any considerable period can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true."

"No man for any considerable period can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true."

Nathaniel Hawthorne, American Novelist

15

"Always remember that the most important thing in a good marriage is not happiness, but stability."

"Always remember that the most important thing in a good marriage is not happiness, but stability."

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Colombian Novelist

Marriage, Happiness, Stability

15

"To the last, I grapple with thee; From Hell's heart, I stab at thee; For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee."

"To the last, I grapple with thee; From Hell's heart, I stab at thee; For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee."

Herman Melville, American Novelist

Philosophy, Heart, Hate, Hell

15

"One always writes comedy at the moment of deepest hysteria."

"One always writes comedy at the moment of deepest hysteria."

V. S. Naipaul, Trinidadian Novelist

15

"Californians invented the concept of life-style. This alone warrants their doom."

"Californians invented the concept of life-style. This alone warrants their doom."

Don DeLillo, American Novelist

15

"All things truly wicked start from innocence."

"All things truly wicked start from innocence."

Ernest Hemingway, American Novelist

15

"By imposing too great a responsibility, or rather, all responsibility, on yourself, you crush yourself."

"By imposing too great a responsibility, or rather, all responsibility, on yourself, you crush yourself."

Franz Kafka, Austrian Novelist

Responsibility,

15

"The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread."

"The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread."

Anatole France, French Novelist

Equality, Law, Poor, Sleep

15

"Still round the corner there may wait, A new road or a secret gate."

"Still round the corner there may wait, A new road or a secret gate."

J. R. R. Tolkien, English Novelist

Hope, May, Road

15

"When work is a pleasure, life is a joy! When work is a duty, life is slavery."

"When work is a pleasure, life is a joy! When work is a duty, life is slavery."

Maxim Gorky, Russian Novelist

Life, Work, Duty, Pleasure

14

"The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference."

"The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference."

Elie Wiesel, American Novelist

Love, Hate, Indifference

14

"All greatness of character is dependent on individuality. The man who has no other existence than that which he partakes in common with all around him, will never have any other than an existence of mediocrity."

"All greatness of character is dependent on individuality. The man who has no other existence than that which he partakes in common with all around him, will never have any other than an existence of mediocrity."

James F. Cooper, American Novelist

Character, Greatness, Existence, Individuality

14

"Injections are the best thing ever invented for feeding doctors."

"Injections are the best thing ever invented for feeding doctors."

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Colombian Novelist

14

"Given a choice between grief and nothing, I'd choose grief."

"Given a choice between grief and nothing, I'd choose grief."

William Faulkner, American Novelist

Attitude, Choice, Grief, Nothing

14

"If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday."

"If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday."

Pearl S. Buck, American Novelist

History, Today, Want, Yesterday

14

"I love sleep. My life has the tendency to fall apart when I'm awake, you know?"

"I love sleep. My life has the tendency to fall apart when I'm awake, you know?"

Ernest Hemingway, American Novelist

Life, Love, Sleep

14

"What a strange illusion it is to suppose that beauty is goodness."

"What a strange illusion it is to suppose that beauty is goodness."

Leo Tolstoy, Russian Novelist

Beauty, Goodness, Illusion

14

"All the flower children were as alike as a congress of accountants and about as interesting."

"All the flower children were as alike as a congress of accountants and about as interesting."

John Mortimer, English Novelist

Family, Children, Congress

14

"The whole dream of democracy is to raise the proletarian to the level of stupidity attained by the bourgeois."

"The whole dream of democracy is to raise the proletarian to the level of stupidity attained by the bourgeois."

Gustave Flaubert, French Novelist

Dream, Democracy, Stupidity

14

"My guiding principle is this: Guilt is never to be doubted."

"My guiding principle is this: Guilt is never to be doubted."

Franz Kafka, Austrian Novelist

14

"If God hadn't rested on Sunday, He would have had time to finish the world."

"If God hadn't rested on Sunday, He would have had time to finish the world."

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Colombian Novelist

Time, God, World

14

"What a wonderful life I've had! I only wish I'd realized it sooner."

"What a wonderful life I've had! I only wish I'd realized it sooner."

Sidonie Gabrielle Colette, French Novelist

14

"Sarcasm: the last refuge of modest and chaste-souled people when the privacy of their soul is coarsely and intrusively invaded."

"Sarcasm: the last refuge of modest and chaste-souled people when the privacy of their soul is coarsely and intrusively invaded."

Fyodor Dostoevsky, Russian Novelist

Soul, People, Privacy

14

"It's just a matter of writing the kind of book I enjoy reading. Something better be happening at the beginning, and then on every page after, or I get irritated."

"It's just a matter of writing the kind of book I enjoy reading. Something better be happening at the beginning, and then on every page after, or I get irritated."

Jonathan Franzen, American Novelist

Reading, Beginning, Writing

14

"Half of the American people have never read a newspaper. Half never voted for President. One hopes it is the same half."

"Half of the American people have never read a newspaper. Half never voted for President. One hopes it is the same half."

Gore Vidal, American Novelist

People, President

14

"Necessity has the face of a dog."

"Necessity has the face of a dog."

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Colombian Novelist

14

"Love is not just looking at each other, it's looking in the same direction."

"Love is not just looking at each other, it's looking in the same direction."

Antoine de Saint-Exupery, French Novelist

Love, Direction

14

"If you have a success you have it for the wrong reasons. If you become popular it is always because of the worst aspects of your work."

"If you have a success you have it for the wrong reasons. If you become popular it is always because of the worst aspects of your work."

Ernest Hemingway, American Novelist

Success, Work, Popular, Wrong

14

"Prometheus is reaching out for the stars with an empty grin on his face."

"Prometheus is reaching out for the stars with an empty grin on his face."

Arthur Koestler, Hungarian Novelist

14

"I believe that always, or almost always, in all childhoods and in all the lives that follow them, the mother represents madness. Our mothers always remain the strangest, craziest people we've ever met."

"I believe that always, or almost always, in all childhoods and in all the lives that follow them, the mother represents madness. Our mothers always remain the strangest, craziest people we've ever met."

Marguerite Duras, French Novelist

Family, Mother, People, Madness, Mothers

14

"Our society must make it right and possible for old people not to fear the young or be deserted by them, for the test of a civilization is the way that it cares for its helpless members."

"Our society must make it right and possible for old people not to fear the young or be deserted by them, for the test of a civilization is the way that it cares for its helpless members."

Pearl S. Buck, American Novelist

Society, People, Civilization, Fear

13

"Power is something of which I am convinced there is no innocence this side of the womb."

"Power is something of which I am convinced there is no innocence this side of the womb."

Nadine Gordimer, South African Novelist

Power, Innocence

13

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