Quotes by Novelist | Beyond Motive 83/393

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Quotes by Novelist

"They may turn out to be a great disappointment, or perhaps they may be full of enchanting surprises."

"They may turn out to be a great disappointment, or perhaps they may be full of enchanting surprises."

Mary Wesley, British Novelist

Exploration, Disappointment, May, Surprises

38

"So much of motion, is so much of life, and so much of joy, and to stand still, or get on but slowly, is death and the devil."

"So much of motion, is so much of life, and so much of joy, and to stand still, or get on but slowly, is death and the devil."

Laurence Sterne, Irish Novelist

Death, Life, Devil, Joy

38

"She'd spoken of their happiness as though it were an undeniable fact, no matter what happened--apart from everything else and not subject to it. It was a new idea for him, that happiness wasn't a mystical place to be reached or won--some bright terrain beyond the boundary of misery, a paradise waiting for them to find it--but something to carry doggedly with you through everything, as humble and ordinary as your gear and supplies. Food, weapons, happiness.With hope that the weapons could in time vanish from the picture."

"She'd spoken of their happiness as though it were an undeniable fact, no matter what happened--apart from everything else and not subject to it. It was a new idea for him, that happiness wasn't a mystical place to be reached or won--some bright terrain beyond the boundary of misery, a paradise waiting for them to find it--but something to carry doggedly with you through everything, as humble and ordinary as your gear and supplies. Food, weapons, happiness.With hope that the weapons could in time vanish from the picture."

Laini Taylor, American Novelist

Happiness, Perspective, Life, Journey

38

"Talking to Rhett was comparable only to one thing, the feeling of ease and comfort afforded by a pair of old slippers after dancing in a pair too tight."

"Talking to Rhett was comparable only to one thing, the feeling of ease and comfort afforded by a pair of old slippers after dancing in a pair too tight."

Margaret Mitchell, American Novelist

Lifestyle, Comfort, Observation, Emotion, Life

38

"Men are governed by lines of intellect - women: by curves of emotion."

"Men are governed by lines of intellect - women: by curves of emotion."

James Joyce, Irish Novelist

Man, Men, Emotion, Intellect

38

"Boys and girls in America have such a sad time together; sophistication demands that they submit to sex immediately without proper preliminary talk. Not courting talk - real straight talk about souls, for life is holy and every moment is precious."

"Boys and girls in America have such a sad time together; sophistication demands that they submit to sex immediately without proper preliminary talk. Not courting talk - real straight talk about souls, for life is holy and every moment is precious."

Jack Kerouac, American Novelist

Society, Childhood, Sexuality, Communication, Life

38

"To take that risk, to offer life and remain alive, open yourself like this and become whole."

"To take that risk, to offer life and remain alive, open yourself like this and become whole."

Margaret Atwood, Canadian Novelist

Heritage, Courage, Tradition, Family, Legacy

38

"So you see, Good and Evil have the same face; it all depends on when they cross the path of each individual human being."

"So you see, Good and Evil have the same face; it all depends on when they cross the path of each individual human being."

Paulo Coelho, Brazilian Novelist

Duality, Evil, Truth, Time, Choice

38

"We'll when he lets his guard down he's okay. Like when he just talks without checking his words or you catch him just looking at something like... He's really looking for the beauty in it."

"We'll when he lets his guard down he's okay. Like when he just talks without checking his words or you catch him just looking at something like... He's really looking for the beauty in it."

Kiera Cass, American Novelist

Life, Beauty, Observation, Attention, Connection

38

"In an individual, selfishness uglifies the soul; for the human species, selfishness is extinction."

"In an individual, selfishness uglifies the soul; for the human species, selfishness is extinction."

David Mitchell, British Novelist

Morality, Selfishness, Soul, Humanity

38

"A novel's whole pattern is rarely apparent at the outset of writing, or even at the end; that is when the writer finds out what a novel is about, and the job becomes one of understanding and deepening or sharpening what is already written. That is finding the theme."

"A novel's whole pattern is rarely apparent at the outset of writing, or even at the end; that is when the writer finds out what a novel is about, and the job becomes one of understanding and deepening or sharpening what is already written. That is finding the theme."

Diane Johnson, American Novelist

Writing, End, Job, Understanding, Writer

38

"The real story of the Fleece: there were these two children of Zeus, Cadmus and Europa, okay? They were about to get offered up as human sacrifices, when they prayed to Zeus to save them. So Zeus sent this magical flying ram with golden wool, which picked them up in Greece and carried them all the way to Colchis in Asia Minor. Well, actually it carried Cadmus. Europa fell off and died along the way, but that's not important.""It was probably important to her."

"The real story of the Fleece: there were these two children of Zeus, Cadmus and Europa, okay? They were about to get offered up as human sacrifices, when they prayed to Zeus to save them. So Zeus sent this magical flying ram with golden wool, which picked them up in Greece and carried them all the way to Colchis in Asia Minor. Well, actually it carried Cadmus. Europa fell off and died along the way, but that's not important.""It was probably important to her."

Rick Riordan, American Novelist

Legend, Myth, Regret, Truth, Power

38

"Kindnesses are easily forgotten; but injuries! what worthy man does not keep those in mind?"

"Kindnesses are easily forgotten; but injuries! what worthy man does not keep those in mind?"

William Makepeace Thackeray, English Novelist

38

"You are always free to change your mind and choose a different future, or a different past."

"You are always free to change your mind and choose a different future, or a different past."

Richard Bach, American Novelist

Change, Future, Mind, Past

38

"And he will never know what it is to look up at the night sky and wish."

"And he will never know what it is to look up at the night sky and wish."

Sarah J. Maas, American Novelist

Longing, Desire, Night, Emotion, Loss

38

"Glimpses do ye seem to see of that mortally intolerable truth; that all deep, earnest thinking is but the intrepid effort of the soul to keep the open independence of her sea; while the wildest winds of heaven and earth conspire to cast her on the treacherous, slavish shore."

"Glimpses do ye seem to see of that mortally intolerable truth; that all deep, earnest thinking is but the intrepid effort of the soul to keep the open independence of her sea; while the wildest winds of heaven and earth conspire to cast her on the treacherous, slavish shore."

Herman Melville, American Novelist

Philosophy, Thinking, Truth, Freedom, Independence

38

"This change did not bring me into the community of the others, did not make me closer to anyone, but actually made me even lonelier. My reformation seemed to point in the direction ofDemian, but even this was a distant fate. I did not know myself, for I was too deeply involved. It had begunwith Beatrice, but for some time I had been living in such an unreal world with my paintings and my thoughtsof Demian that I'd forgotten all about her, too. I could not have uttered a single word about my dreams andexpectations, my inner change, to anyone, not even if I had wanted to. But how could I have wanted to?"

"This change did not bring me into the community of the others, did not make me closer to anyone, but actually made me even lonelier. My reformation seemed to point in the direction ofDemian, but even this was a distant fate. I did not know myself, for I was too deeply involved. It had begunwith Beatrice, but for some time I had been living in such an unreal world with my paintings and my thoughtsof Demian that I'd forgotten all about her, too. I could not have uttered a single word about my dreams andexpectations, my inner change, to anyone, not even if I had wanted to. But how could I have wanted to?"

Hermann Hesse, German Novelist

Transition, Change, Isolation, Self, Expression

38

"A woman's magazine quiz:Question: You decide to do the dread deed and just as things are starting to get hot he comes, rolls over, and asks, 'Was it good for you?You:a. Say, 'God, yes! That was the best seventeen seconds of my lifeb. Say, 'Sure, as good as it gets for me with a man.c. Put a Certs in your navel and say, 'That's for you, Mr. Bunnyman. You can have it on your way back up, after the job is finished."

"A woman's magazine quiz:Question: You decide to do the dread deed and just as things are starting to get hot he comes, rolls over, and asks, 'Was it good for you?You:a. Say, 'God, yes! That was the best seventeen seconds of my lifeb. Say, 'Sure, as good as it gets for me with a man.c. Put a Certs in your navel and say, 'That's for you, Mr. Bunnyman. You can have it on your way back up, after the job is finished."

Christopher Moore, American Novelist

Humor, Truth, Happiness, Wisdom

38

"Andrew Lloyd Webber's version of the Kool-Aid jingle is at once chilling and evocative. Donny Osmond is brilliant as James Jones."

"Andrew Lloyd Webber's version of the Kool-Aid jingle is at once chilling and evocative. Donny Osmond is brilliant as James Jones."

Christopher Moore, American Novelist

Art, Music, Performance, Emotion

38

"The Warrior knows that no man is an island.He cannot fight alone; whatever his plan, he depends on other people. He needs to discuss his strategy, to ask for help, and, in moments of relaxation, to have someone with whom he can sit by the fire, someone he can regale with tales of battle."

"The Warrior knows that no man is an island.He cannot fight alone; whatever his plan, he depends on other people. He needs to discuss his strategy, to ask for help, and, in moments of relaxation, to have someone with whom he can sit by the fire, someone he can regale with tales of battle."

Paulo Coelho, Brazilian Novelist

Brotherhood, Dependence, Strategy, Help, Community

38

"When a child asks you something, answer him, for goodness sake. But don't make a production of it. Children are children, but they can spot an evasion faster than adults, and evasion simply muddles 'em."

"When a child asks you something, answer him, for goodness sake. But don't make a production of it. Children are children, but they can spot an evasion faster than adults, and evasion simply muddles 'em."

Harper Lee, American Novelist

Advice, Honesty, Children, Observation, Truth

38

"If you don't believe in yourself, then who will believe in you? The next man's way of getting there might not necessarily work for me, so I have to create my own ways of getting there."

"If you don't believe in yourself, then who will believe in you? The next man's way of getting there might not necessarily work for me, so I have to create my own ways of getting there."

Michael Korda, English Novelist

Work, Man, Will

38

"The clouds were gathering over Mary, too--deep and dark, but of altogether another kind from those that enveloped Letty: no troubles are for one moment to be compared with those that come of the wrongness, even if it be not wickedness, that is our own. Some clouds rise from stagnant bogs and fens; others from the wide, clean, large ocean. But either kind, thank God, will serve the angels to come down by. In the old stories of celestial visitants the clouds do much; and it is oftenest of all down the misty slope of griefs and pains and fears, that the most powerful joy slides into the hearts of men and women and children."

"The clouds were gathering over Mary, too--deep and dark, but of altogether another kind from those that enveloped Letty: no troubles are for one moment to be compared with those that come of the wrongness, even if it be not wickedness, that is our own. Some clouds rise from stagnant bogs and fens; others from the wide, clean, large ocean. But either kind, thank God, will serve the angels to come down by. In the old stories of celestial visitants the clouds do much; and it is oftenest of all down the misty slope of griefs and pains and fears, that the most powerful joy slides into the hearts of men and women and children."

George MacDonald, Scottish Novelist

Emotion, Joy, Sorrow, Observation, Life

38

"The better organized the state, the duller its humanity."

"The better organized the state, the duller its humanity."

David Mitchell, British Novelist

Politics, Organization, State, Humanity, Power

38

"...the opposite of every truth is just as true! That is to say, any truth can only be expressed and put into words when it is one-sided. Everything that can be thought with the mind and said with words is one-sided, it's all just the half of it, lacking completeness, roundness, or unity."

"...the opposite of every truth is just as true! That is to say, any truth can only be expressed and put into words when it is one-sided. Everything that can be thought with the mind and said with words is one-sided, it's all just the half of it, lacking completeness, roundness, or unity."

Hermann Hesse, German Novelist

Truth, Word, Mind, Philosophy

38

"Events at home, at work, in the street - these are the bases for a story."

"Events at home, at work, in the street - these are the bases for a story."

Naguib Mahfouz, Egyptian Novelist

Home, Work, Events

38

"Love has its own dark morality when rivalry enters in."

"Love has its own dark morality when rivalry enters in."

Thomas Hardy, English Novelist

Love, Rivalry, Morality, Emotion

38

"The thing that is important is the thing that is not seen...."

"The thing that is important is the thing that is not seen...."

Antoine de Saint-Exupery, French Novelist

Philosophy, Essence, Perception, Observation

38

"The erotic is not about nudity and nudity is rarely erotic. The erotic is subtle, a feeling, a gesture, a mood, a story frozen in the moment that holds you breathless waiting for the next moment. Understand this, and you understand the erotic."

"The erotic is not about nudity and nudity is rarely erotic. The erotic is subtle, a feeling, a gesture, a mood, a story frozen in the moment that holds you breathless waiting for the next moment. Understand this, and you understand the erotic."

Chloe Thurlow, British Novelist

Subtlety, Sensuality, Awareness, Perception

38

"I'm sorry for my inability to let unimportant things go, for my inability to hold on to the important things."

"I'm sorry for my inability to let unimportant things go, for my inability to hold on to the important things."

Jonathan Safran Foer, American Novelist

Regret, Loss, Memory, Emotion

38

"What a sad pair we are," she said. "Surely we can manage a conversation on a topic other than our respective terrible evenings."

"What a sad pair we are," she said. "Surely we can manage a conversation on a topic other than our respective terrible evenings."

Julia Quinn, American Novelist

Emotion, Sadness, Truth, Observation, Power

38

"But I went to high school in a Portland suburb and went to college here."

"But I went to high school in a Portland suburb and went to college here."

Katherine Dunn, American Novelist

College, School

38

"It seems to me self-evident that if you have a life, things happen in it, and certain things do change; certain things end. People you know die."

"It seems to me self-evident that if you have a life, things happen in it, and certain things do change; certain things end. People you know die."

Jonathan Franzen, American Novelist

Change, Life, People, End

38

"It is the besetting vice of democracies to substitute public opinion for law. This is the usual form in which the masses of men exhibit their tyranny."

"It is the besetting vice of democracies to substitute public opinion for law. This is the usual form in which the masses of men exhibit their tyranny."

James F. Cooper, American Novelist

Man, Men, Law, Opinion, Public

38

"Did you ever hear the Oriental proverb, 'The dogs bark but the caravan passes on'? Let them bark, Scarlett. I fear nothing will stop your caravan."

"Did you ever hear the Oriental proverb, 'The dogs bark but the caravan passes on'? Let them bark, Scarlett. I fear nothing will stop your caravan."

Margaret Mitchell, American Novelist

Wisdom, Saying, Observation, Truth, Patience

38

"Love or hatred must constantly increase between two persons who are always together; every moment fresh reasons are found for loving or hating better."

"Love or hatred must constantly increase between two persons who are always together; every moment fresh reasons are found for loving or hating better."

Honore De Balzac, French Novelist

38

"That's exactly where they send entry-level diplomats. After you cut your teeth on a few civil wars and a famine or two, you might get lucky and be given a plum post somewhere in the SECOND World."

"That's exactly where they send entry-level diplomats. After you cut your teeth on a few civil wars and a famine or two, you might get lucky and be given a plum post somewhere in the SECOND World."

Elle Lothlorien, American Novelist

Diplomacy, Cynicism, Experience, Conflict

38

"A fool can throw a stone in a pond that 100 wise men can not get out."

"A fool can throw a stone in a pond that 100 wise men can not get out."

Saul Bellow, American Novelist

38

"WHAT I'M TELLING YOU IS, IF YOU WANT TO DO THINGS YOUR OWN WAY, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO MAKE A DECISION - YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO FIND A LITTLE COURAGE."

"WHAT I'M TELLING YOU IS, IF YOU WANT TO DO THINGS YOUR OWN WAY, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO MAKE A DECISION - YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO FIND A LITTLE COURAGE."

John Irving, American Novelist

Motivation, Courage, Decision, Action, Power

38

"I don't know why men like to barbecue so much. Maybe its the only thing they can cook. Or maybe they're just closet pyromaniacs."

"I don't know why men like to barbecue so much. Maybe its the only thing they can cook. Or maybe they're just closet pyromaniacs."

Cecelia Ahern, Irish Novelist

Life, Humor, Observation, Gender, Behavior

38

"Innocence is a bleeding wound without a bandage, a wound that opens with every casual knock from casual passers-by. Experience is an armour."

"Innocence is a bleeding wound without a bandage, a wound that opens with every casual knock from casual passers-by. Experience is an armour."

Hilary Mantel, British Novelist

Innocence, Experience, Wisdom, Life

38

"In theory there is a possibility of perfect happiness: To believe in the indestructible element within one, and not to strive towards it."

"In theory there is a possibility of perfect happiness: To believe in the indestructible element within one, and not to strive towards it."

Franz Kafka, Austrian Novelist

Possibility, Theory

38

"If you look at life one way, there is always cause for alarm."

"If you look at life one way, there is always cause for alarm."

Elizabeth Bowen, Irish Novelist

38

"Babe,' Ranger said. 'You're looking a little strung out. Is there anything I should know?'I'm on a sugar withdrawal. I've given up desert and it's all I can think about.' That had been true five minutes ago. Now that Ranger was standng in front of me I was thinking a cupcake wasn't what I actually needed.Maybe I can help you get your mind off doughnuts,' Ranger said.My mouth dropped open, and I think some drool might have dribbled out."

"Babe,' Ranger said. 'You're looking a little strung out. Is there anything I should know?'I'm on a sugar withdrawal. I've given up desert and it's all I can think about.' That had been true five minutes ago. Now that Ranger was standng in front of me I was thinking a cupcake wasn't what I actually needed.Maybe I can help you get your mind off doughnuts,' Ranger said.My mouth dropped open, and I think some drool might have dribbled out."

Janet Evanovich, American Novelist

Well-Being, Health, Support, Observation, Life

38

"The words of kindness are more healing to a drooping heart than balm or honey."

"The words of kindness are more healing to a drooping heart than balm or honey."

Sarah Fielding, British Novelist

Heart, Healing, Kindness, Words

38

"My fate cannot be mastered; it can only be collaborated with and thereby, to some extent, directed. Nor am I the captain of my soul; I am only its noisiest passenger."

"My fate cannot be mastered; it can only be collaborated with and thereby, to some extent, directed. Nor am I the captain of my soul; I am only its noisiest passenger."

Aldous Huxley, English Novelist

38

"Blood is thicker than water,"The young man saidAs he knifed his friendFor a drooling old bitchAnd a house full of lies."

"Blood is thicker than water,"The young man saidAs he knifed his friendFor a drooling old bitchAnd a house full of lies."

Ernest Hemingway, American Novelist

Betrayal, Family, Violence, Trust

38

"The world is divided into those who screw and those who do not. He distrusted those who did not-when they strayed from the straight and narrow it was something so unusual for them that they bragged about love as if they had just invented it."

"The world is divided into those who screw and those who do not. He distrusted those who did not-when they strayed from the straight and narrow it was something so unusual for them that they bragged about love as if they had just invented it."

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Colombian Novelist

Love, Trust, Distrust, Experience

38

"People without firmness of character love to make up a fate for themselves; that relieves them of the necessity of having their own will and of taking responsibility for themselves."

"People without firmness of character love to make up a fate for themselves; that relieves them of the necessity of having their own will and of taking responsibility for themselves."

Ivan Turgenev, Russian Novelist

Love, People, Character, Fate

38

"To what a degree the same past can leave different marks - and especially admit of different interpretations."

"To what a degree the same past can leave different marks - and especially admit of different interpretations."

Andre Gide, French Novelist

38

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