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A successful novel should interrupt the reader’s life, make him or her miss appointments, skip meals, forget to walk the dog.
Stephen King
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Interpretation

What this quote means

A great novel captivates readers so deeply that they lose track of time and neglect their daily responsibilities.

Stephen King's quote highlights the immersive power of a successful novel, suggesting that it should be so compelling that readers become fully absorbed in the story. This level of engagement indicates not only the effectiveness of the writing but also the profound impact literature can have on our lives, drawing us away from mundane tasks and into fictional worlds.

Themes

NovelReadingEngagementStoryLiterature

In practice

Example use cases

In a book club discussion, one might say, 'I lost track of time reading this novel; it truly interrupted my life.'

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That's the day's business. Thinking. Thinking and isolation, because it doesn't matter if you pass the time of day with someone or not; in the end, you're alone. He seemed to have put in as many miles in his brain as he had with his feet. The thoughts kept coming and there was no way to deny them.
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Late last night and the night before, tommyknockers, tommyknockers knocking on my door. I wanna go out, don't know if I can 'cuz I'm so afraid of the tommyknocker man.
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Quote by Stephen King | QuoteProject