If certain books are to be termed 'immigrant fiction,' what do we call the rest? Native fiction? Puritan fiction? This distinction doesn't agree with me.
Jhumpa LahiriRead
I write about characters that interest me. And I don't think of my books as being forms of entertainment.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the author's intention to create meaningful characters rather than just entertain.
Jhumpa Lahiri expresses that her writing is driven by her fascination with the characters she creates, suggesting that her books serve a deeper purpose than mere entertainment. This highlights the idea that literature can explore complex human experiences and emotions, inviting readers to engage with the characters on a more profound level.
Themes
WritingCharactersLiteratureEntertainmentJhumpa Lahiri
In practice
Example use cases
Use this quote during a lecture on the purpose of literature in understanding human nature.
More from Jhumpa Lahiri
All quotes βWhen I sit down to write, I don't think about writing about an idea or a given message. I just try to write a story which is hard enough.
Jhumpa LahiriRead
When I am experiencing a complex story or novel, the broader planes, and also details, tend to fall away.
Jhumpa LahiriRead
I think each time you start a story or novel or whatever, you are absolutely at the bottom of the ladder all over again. It doesn't matter what you've done before.
Jhumpa LahiriRead
The sky was different, without color, taut and unforgiving. But the water was the most unforgiving thing, nearly black at times, cold enough, I knew, to kill me, violent enough to break me apart. The waves were immense, battering rocky beaches without sand. The farther I went, the more desolate it became, more than any place I'd been, but for this very reason the landscape drew me, claimed me as nothing had in a long time.
Jhumpa LahiriRead
On the technical side, I hope that my writing is evolving and maturing, ripening, deepening.
Jhumpa LahiriRead
Similar quotes
Beauty in music is too often confused with something that lets the ears lie back in an easy chair. Many sounds that we are used to do not bother us, and for that reason we are inclined to call them beautiful. Frequently, when a new or unfamiliar work is accepted as beautiful on its first hearing, its fundamental quality is one that tends to put the mind to sleep.
Charles IvesRead
First, I try to take everything away that doesn't matter to singing. It sounds simplistic, but it works. There is absolute focus on singing: producing sounds and emotions that I have always enjoyed. This is key.
Johnny MathisRead
Realism should only be the means of expression of religious genius... or, at the other extreme, the artistic expressions of monkeys which are quite satisfied with mere imitation. In fact, art is never realistic though sometimes it is tempted to be. To be really realistic a description would have to be endless.
Albert CamusRead
I offer my performance as prayer for someone I've worked with as an actor or someone who has died. The image that comes into my head as I walk to the stage, I offer that performance up for that person.
Liam NeesonRead
I aspire to a poetry of great formal integrity, deep passion and high intellect, and I have many models for how to do that.
Edward HirschRead
There comes a moment when it is no longer you who takes the photograph, but receives the way to do it quite naturally and fully.
Sebastiao SalgadoRead