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.
One always tends to overpraise a long book, because one has got through it.
My books never go where I think they're going.
That is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you're not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong.
I love it when novels contain a broad cast of characters, including queer ones.
A book is sent out into the world, and there is no way of fully anticipating the responses it will elicit. Consider the responses called forth by the Bible, Homer, Shakespeare - let alone contemporary poetry or a modern novel.
I'll read anything Anne Carson writes, anything J. M. Coetzee writes, and anything Cormac McCarthy writes. I'll drop whatever I'm doing to read a new Mary Ruefle essay.
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