Quotes by Novelists

I believe in America. America's made my fortune. Mario Puzo

Made Believe America Fortune

Humour and high seriousness... Perfect bedfellows, I think. Though I usually phrase it in terms of comedy and darkness. Comedy without darkness rapidly becomes trivial. And darkness without comedy rapidly becomes unbearable. Mark Haddon

Darkness Comedy Think Humour Though High Rapidly Phrase Unbearable Trivial Perfect Terms Without Becomes Bedfellows Seriousness

Happiness is ideal, it is the work of the imagination. Marquis de Sade

Happiness Work Imagination Ideal

People, certainly in the U.K., look down on screenwriting as an art form, but I love the discipline of it. Next to the bagginess of novel writing, it almost feels like a martial art. Matt Haig

Love Art People Writing Discipline Down Martial Almost Feels Like Look Art Form Form Screenwriting Next Certainly Novel

Technology is the knack of so arranging the world that we don't have to experience it. Max Frisch

Technology Experience World Knack Arranging

You can put anything into words, except your own life. Max Frisch

Life You Words Own Except Put Anything Your

Everybody, my friend, everybody lives for something better to come. That's why we want to be considerate of every man - Who knows what's in him, why he was born and what he can do? Maxim Gorky

Man Better Every Everybody Considerate Born My Friend Something He Come Him Knows Friend Want Who Why Lives Every Man

To succeed it is necessary to accept the world as it is and rise above it. Michael Korda

World Rise Above Rise Above Accept Succeed Necessary

Luck can often mean simply taking advantage of a situation at the right moment. It is possible to make your luck by being always prepared. Michael Korda

Situation Luck Right Moment Possible Simply Taking Advantage Taking Advantage Make Always Often Being Mean Your Moment Prepared Right

Success has always been easy to measure. It is the distance between one's origins and one's final achievement. Michael Korda

Success Achievement Final Distance Easy Between Always Been Measure Origins

For a man to attain to an eminent degree in learning costs him time, watching, hunger, nakedness, dizziness in the head, weakness in the stomach, and other inconveniences. Miguel de Cervantes

Time Man Learning Degree Other Hunger Weakness Costs Eminent Attain Head Him Stomach Graduation Watching Inconvenience

Caresses, expressions of one sort or another, are necessary to the life of the affections as leaves are to the life of a tree. If they are wholly restrained, love will die at the roots. Nathaniel Hawthorne

Life Love Relationship Will Tree Restrained Sort Another Leaves Affections Die Roots Wholly Expressions Necessary

The final purpose of art is to intensify, even, if necessary, to exacerbate, the moral consciousness of people. Norman Mailer

Art People Final Moral Exacerbate Purpose Even Consciousness Necessary

A modern democracy is a tyranny whose borders are undefined; one discovers how far one can go only by traveling in a straight line until one is stopped. Norman Mailer

Democracy Tyranny Borders Only Undefined Until How How Far Go Line Discovers Modern Stopped Straight Straight Line Far Traveling Whose

What the detective story is about is not murder but the restoration of order. P. D. James

Detective Detective Story Restoration About Order Story

I like the idea of isolation, I like the idea of solitude. You can be connected and have a phone and still be lonely. Paul Theroux

You Solitude Phone Lonely Isolation Idea Like Still Connected

Gain a modest reputation for being unreliable and you will never be asked to do a thing. Paul Theroux

You Will Reputation Unreliable Never Being Gain Modest Asked Thing

I cannot make my days longer so I strive to make them better. Paul Theroux

Better Strive Longer Days Make Cannot Them

I think I am typical in believing that the Peace Corps trained us brilliantly and then did little more except send us into the bush. It was not a bad way of running things. Paul Theroux