The greedy search for money or success will almost always lead men into unhappiness. Why? Because that kind of life makes them depend upon things outside themselves.
Andre MauroisRead
Lost Illusion is the undisclosed title of every novel.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that every story involves a disillusionment or loss of innocence.
Andre Maurois emphasizes the universal theme in literature where characters often experience a loss of illusion, leading to personal growth or transformation. This concept reflects the depth and complexity of human experiences, showing that through the journey of life and storytelling, individuals come to terms with reality, moving from naive expectations to a clearer understanding of their circumstances.
In practice
Use this quote during a book club discussion to highlight character development.
The greedy search for money or success will almost always lead men into unhappiness. Why? Because that kind of life makes them depend upon things outside themselves.
It is better to teach a few things perfectly than many things indifferently...
We can talk frankly about our defects only to those who recognise our qualities.
Men fear silence as they fear solitude, because both give them a glimpse of the terror of life's nothingness.
If you create an act, you create a habit. If you create a habit, you create a character. If you create a character, you create a destiny.
A man cannot free himself from the past more easily than he can from his own body.
And I desperately needed books that would take me out of my environment and show me a world where being smart and brave and prepared was more important than being cute or cheerful or knowing the right thing to say. And that's what science fiction and fantasy gave me.
I always felt a little worm inside me: 'Now you need to write a novel with a woman protagonist.'
Not every novel that wants to be a tragedy gets to be one.
One always tends to overpraise a long book, because one has got through it.
Amos Oz is one of the finest novelists of this entire period. MY MICHAEL is a beautiful work of great depth and in some indescribable way lingers in the mind as a lyric song to his country's people as much as a moving love story.
Novelists are stamina merchants, grinders, nine-to-fivers, and their career curves follow the usual arc of human endeavour.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.