It may be that the books that were best liked in your lifetime are not the ones that are best liked 100 years later.
Interpretation
The value of books may change over time, reflecting different societal preferences and historical contexts.
This quote by Salman Rushdie reflects on the transient nature of literary appreciation, suggesting that what is celebrated and adored in one generation may not hold the same significance a century later. It emphasizes the idea that the cultural and temporal context heavily influences our understanding and enjoyment of literature, implying that timelessness in art is subjective and often elusive.
In practice
During a discussion on the evolution of literature in a book club.
I've been fascinated by Machiavelli since I was very young. I've always felt that he had a bad rap from history, and that he was actually a person quite unlike what we now think of as Machiavellian. He was a republican. He disliked totalitarian government.
Killing people because you don't like their ideas - it's a bad thing.
faith without doubt is addiction
I am clearly vulnerable to these more passionate and volatile unstable relationships. I am trying to not be so vulnerable.
In India, as elsewhere in our darkening world, religion is the poison in the blood. Where religion intervenes, mere innocence is no excuse. Yet we go on skating around this issue, speaking of religion in the fashionable language of 'respect.' What is there to respect in any of this, or in any of the crimes now being committed almost daily around the world in religion's dreaded name?
Reality is a question of perspective; the further you get from the past, the more concrete and plausible it seems - but as you approach the present, it inevitably seems more and more incredible.
The first proof of a well-ordered mind is to be able to pause and linger within itself.
I do not know of any, excepting the unpardonable sin, that is greater than the sin of ingratitude.
I have never said that there is no need for a guru. All depends on what you call guru. He need not be in a human form.
Incestuous, homogeneous fiefdoms of self-proclaimed expertise are always rank-closing and mutually self-defending, above all else.
Throughout all history, the great wise men and teachers, philosophers, and prophets have disagreed with one another on many different things. It is only on this one point that they are in complete and unanimous agreement. We become what we think about
If wisdom were offered me with this restriction, that I should keep it close and not communicate it, I would refuse the gift.
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