28 Arundhati Roy Quotes for You to Enjoy

Arundhati Roy

Indian Novelist

Born: Nov 24, 1961

Made Me People Think World You

Related authors: Charles Dickens Ernest Hemingway Gustave Flaubert James Baldwin John Updike Leo Rosten Paulo Coelho Walter Scott

If we were to lose the ability to be emotional, if we were to lose the ability to be angry, to be outraged, we would be robots. And I refuse that. Arundhati Roy

Angry Lose Would Would-Be Ability Outraged Emotional Robots Were Refuse

I think the kind of landscape that you grew up in, it lives with you. I don't think it's true of people who've grown up in cities so much; you may love a building, but I don't think that you can love it in the way that you love a tree or a river or the colour of the earth; it's a different kind of love. Arundhati Roy

I do what I do, and write what I write, without calculating what is worth what and so on. Fortunately, I am not a banker or an accountant. I feel that there is a time when a political statement needs to be made and I make it. Arundhati Roy

Time Needs Worth Political Made Statement Write Feel Calculating Make Without Am Accountant Political Statement Banker Fortunately

When you say things like, 'We have to wipe out the Taliban,' what does that mean? The Taliban is not a fixed number of people. The Taliban is an ideology that has sprung out of a history that, you know, America created anyway. Arundhati Roy

History You People Ideology Say Out Wipe Like Know Taliban Does Sprung Fixed America Anyway Mean Created Things Number

You begin to realize that hypocrisy is not a terrible thing when you see what overt fascism is compared to sort of covert, you know, communal politics which the Congress has never been shy of indulging in. Arundhati Roy

The fact is that America's weapons systems have made it impossible for anybody to confront it militarily. So, all you have is your wits and your cunning, and your ability to fight in the way the Iraqis are fighting. Arundhati Roy

You Fight Impossible Made Fighting Way Systems Weapons Ability Fact Wits Cunning Iraqis America Anybody Confront Your

The Occupy movement found places where people who were feeling that anger could come and share it - and that is, as we all know, extremely important in any political movement. The Occupy sites became a way you could gauge the levels of anger and discontent. Arundhati Roy

You Anger People Political Feeling Important Gauge Way Extremely Could Share Come Know Became Occupy Discontent Were Political Movement Sites Any Movement Where Places Who Found Levels

Democracy no longer means what it was meant to. It has been taken back into the workshop. Each of its institutions has been hollowed out, and it has been returned to us as a vehicle for the free market, of the corporations. For the corporations, by the corporations. Arundhati Roy

Democracy Free Back Market Corporations Out Has-Been Free Market Taken Vehicle Longer Institutions Returned Been Us Means Meant Workshop Each

I kind of resent the idea that the whole world has to be interested in the American elections. Arundhati Roy

World Kind Idea American Interested Elections Whole Resent

To me, there is nothing higher than fiction. Nothing. It is fundamentally who I am. I am a teller of stories. For me, that's the only way I can make sense of the world, with all the dance that it involves. Arundhati Roy

Me World Dance Sense Nothing Way Teller Only Higher Involves Make Am Than Fiction Stories Who Fundamentally

Caste is about dividing people up in ways that preclude every form of solidarity, because even in the lowest castes, there are divisions and sub-castes, and everyone's co-opted into the business of this hierarchical, silo-ised society. Arundhati Roy

Business People Every Society Everyone Ways Solidarity Hierarchical About Caste Dividing Divisions Because Up Form Lowest Even

I am very conscious that, from the time of 'The God of Small Things' was published 10 years ago, we are in a different world... which needs to be written about differently, and I really very much want to do that. Arundhati Roy

In a way, writing is an incredible act of individualism, producing your language, and yet to use it from the heart of a crowd as opposed to as an individual performance is a conflicting thing. I do stand alone, and yet it's not about being an individual or being ambitious. Arundhati Roy

You have come to a stage where you almost have to work on yourself. You know, on finding some tranquility with which to respond to these things, because I realize that the biggest risk that many of us run is beginning to get inured to the horrors. Arundhati Roy

Work You Yourself Beginning Stage Respond Run Finding Some Inured Risk Horrors Almost Come Know Because Get Tranquility Where Biggest Which Realize Us Many Things

The mullahs of the Islamic world and the mullahs of the Hindu world and the mullahs of the Christian world are all on the same side. And we are against them all. Arundhati Roy

World Christian Side Islamic Hindu Islamic World Same Against Them Christian World

I think one of the saddest things that's happening to literature is that it's getting over-simplified by this diet of simple political ideas. Arundhati Roy

Simple Political Think Saddest Ideas Getting Diet Happening Literature Things

There can be nothing more humiliating for a writer of fiction to have to do than restate a case that has already been made. Arundhati Roy

Made Nothing Humiliating Restate Case More Writer Been Than Fiction

When I decided to write 'The God of Small Things', I had been working in cinema. It was almost a decision to downshift from there. I thought that 300 people would read it. But it created a platform of trust. Arundhati Roy

God Small Things Trust People Cinema Decision Thought Would Small Write Had Almost Read Been Decided Created Working Platform Things

Years of imprisoning and beheading writers never succeeded in shutting them out. However, placing them in the heart of a market and rewarding them with a lot of commercial success, has. Arundhati Roy

Success Heart Market Out Writers Never However Years Lot Commercial Commercial Success Rewarding Placing Them Succeeded Shutting

I'm living to the edges of my fingernails, using everything I have. It's impossible for me to look at things politically or in any way as a project, to further my career. You're injected directly into the blood of the places in which you're living and what's going on there. Arundhati Roy

Pity the nation that has to silence its writers for speaking their minds. Arundhati Roy

Silence Nation Minds Writers Pity Speaking

I think people ease into this careerist professionalism, so if you're a writer it's your job to manufacture books as opposed to writing them and to go to festivals and spend your life emotionally invested in reviews or the awards. You have to shrink your universe in a way. To me, it's the opposite. Arundhati Roy

Life Me You People Writing Job Think Universe Spend Books Way Ease Invested Writer Emotionally Opposed Go Opposite Reviews Festivals Them Your Manufacture Professionalism Awards Shrink

I don't want to play these games of statistics any more; I have done that. I don't want to be imprisoned by that, or by the morality that is expected of activists. I have never been that pristine person, that role model. Arundhati Roy

Statistics Morality More Never Pristine Been Imprisoned Model Role Person Role Model Expected Any Done Want Games Activists Play

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