9375 quotes by novelists for you to enjoy

When you start about family, about lineage and ancestry, you are talking about every person on earth. Alex Haley

Family You Every Earth Ancestry About Talking Lineage Person Start

A word, for example, that is negative, pejorative, and has caused more pain and suffering is 'illegitimate.' But every person has a mother and father. It is another way we let society hurt others. Alex Haley

Most of the people I've met who are black in other countries look up to the blacks in this country. Though they may talk differently, they are anxious to partake of this country simply because things in their country are not physically on par with what they are here. Alex Haley

People Black Country Met Other Other Countries Par Though Blacks Physically Simply Partake Countries Look Most Talk Because Up Anxious May Who Differently Things Here

To the best of my knowledge and of my effort, every lineage statement within 'Roots' is from either my African or American families' carefully preserved oral history, much of which I have been able conventionally to corroborate with documents. Alex Haley

I think one thing with Sweden is that in some way the Swedish society is a very good society, almost perfect on the surface. That is something that makes the writers forced to see what is underneath the surface, because it's always something underneath the surface, of course. Alexander Ahndoril

Writing a book is not a crime. Alexander Ahndoril

Book Writing Crime

Silence is the unbearable repartee. Alexander Theroux

Silence Unbearable Repartee

To shy away from human extremes and human sensuality makes for bone-dry fiction. A world parched of our sexual releases and our tumultuous daily emotional lives is deeply impoverished. It is not lifelike, at least life as I remember living it. Allan Gurganus

I was 16 before I met another passionate collector. One summer, I visited England; a new friend took me calling on his dotty, brilliant old aunt. She occupied a quaint house in Kent. Its walls were lined with glass-fronted cases full of what? Ancient shoe buckles. Allan Gurganus

Me Walls Old Brilliant Met Before Took Summer Ancient Visited Collector Cases New Quaint House She Calling Another Occupied Passionate Were His Aunt Lined Friend Shoe Full England Kent

After a sound public education, I attended Penn and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. After being drafted into the military and studying Indonesian, I emerged as a writer, not a painter. Allan Gurganus

Education Public Education Military Penn Pennsylvania Fine Fine Arts Emerged Writer Attended Studying Academy Sound Arts Being After Public Painter Drafted

'The Practical Heart' was published one week before the World Trade towers collapsed. Book reviewing and all else in our culture stopped dead-still for half a year. I went on the book tour anyway. But I felt like the apostle Paul going unto the catacombs where scared believers hid and prayed. Allan Gurganus

Heart Culture Book World Half Year Before Else Book Tour Our Hid Collapsed Scared Week Tour Towers Like Unto Practical Felt Trade Prayed Reviewing Going Stopped Where Anyway Paul Apostle Believers Published World Trade

I rise at 6. Strong coffee helps me face the paper edition of 'The New York Times.' It daily challenges my own capacity for faking anything deranged enough to sound true. I work till 2 P.M. unless I am in the throes of finishing something. I rewrite to be reread. Allan Gurganus

Work Daily Me Challenges Strong Coffee Face Own Enough Unless Paper Rise Something My Own Finishing True New Edition Sound Am Till Faking Times York New York Rewrite New York Times Anything Capacity Deranged Helps

Sometimes the books most restrained about sex, even deeply scandalized by it, can whisper to us with the greatest hidden force. I am a huge admirer of the recently deceased, always underranked Evan S. Connell. Allan Gurganus

Sometimes Sex Books Hidden Admirer About Restrained Most Force Greatest Always Am Huge Deceased Whisper Us Even Deeply Recently

Having great friends in New York is like having great friends on an expedition into Darkest Africa in the early 19th century. You need them. And you need sponsorship on a daily basis. I have a painter friend here who says, 'I need two compliments a day just to break even.' And we gave them to each other, and we got them - and honestly got them. Allan Gurganus

Day Great Daily You Darkest Honestly Other Gave Says Great Friends Compliments Having New Like Sponsorship Got Friend Friends York Expedition Just New York Africa Break Them Century Who Painter Even Each Daily Basis Early Here Two Basis Need

My mother had a master's degree and had been a schoolteacher before she started having kids at 30. But my father's family were landowners, farmer-merchants. Moneymaking was extremely important, like one of those semi-rapacious families in Lillian Hellman, where they know the price of everything and the value of nothing. Allan Gurganus

Family Mother Father Value Degree Important Master Before Nothing Everything Extremely Those Kids Having Price Had Like Know Schoolteacher She Were Been Families Where Moneymaking Started

I don't think anybody who has any wisdom regrets a minute of their life, as long as it takes you to the next minute, when things get a little better, and even when it doesn't. Allan Gurganus

Life Wisdom You Better Long Think Minute Takes Get Any Anybody Little Regrets Next Who Even Things

Living in Manhattan opened me to whole new sets of things to envy, study, gather and imagine stealing. A full-size 1809 German harp, beautifully painted with three goddesses, covered in a pea-green coat of great silvery refinement: mine for $180. Though all its strings were broken, its beauty let it claim a quarter of my one - bedroom. Allan Gurganus

Great Me Broken Envy Three Beauty Living Sets Harp Mine Strings Claim Though Stealing Study Opened New Beautifully Bedroom Quarter Were Covered Refinement German Goddesses Manhattan Coat Painted Whole Things Imagine Gather

Quotes by Novelists