You can't quantify human pain the way you can measure out sugar. Death comes one individual at a time.
Yann MartelRead
Every book I've written has been a different attempt to understand something, and the success or failure of the previous one is irrelevant. I write the book I want.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote expresses the idea that the process of writing is more important than the outcome, emphasizing personal exploration over external validation.
Yann Martel's quote highlights the intrinsic value of writing as a means of understanding oneself and the world. He suggests that the act of creating literature is a personal journey of inquiry, where each book represents a different facet of his exploration. Success or failure in previous works does not dictate his current endeavors; instead, he focuses on writing for his own fulfillment and insight, which underscores the significance of personal motivations in creative expression.
Themes
WritingUnderstandingCreativitySuccessPersonal
In practice
Example use cases
In a literature class, discussing how authors pursue their own understanding through their works.
More from Yann Martel
All quotes →Come aboard if your destination is oblivion- it should be our next stop. We can sit together. You can have the window seat if you want. But it's a sad view.
Yann MartelRead
Fiction and nonfiction are not so easily divided. Fiction may not be real, but it's true; it goes beyond the garland of facts to get to emotional and psychological truths.
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The moon was a sharply defined crescent and the sky was perfectly clear. The stars shone with such fierce, contained brilliance that it seemed absurd to call the night dark.
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I thought they were helping me. I was so full of trust in them that I felt grateful as they carried me in the air. Only when they threw me overboard did I begin to have doubts.
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Art is a gift: you create and then you give away. How readers receive that gift is their business. If they hate it, that’s their response to it. Others respond by liking it. Either way, that is their interaction with the book, which is no longer mine.
Yann MartelRead
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