A short story is the ultimate close-up magic trick -- a couple of thousand words to take you around the universe or break your heart.
Neil GaimanRead
There are so many fragile things, after all. People break so easily, and so do dreams and hearts.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the vulnerability of people and their aspirations, highlighting how easily they can be hurt or shattered.
Neil Gaiman's quote emphasizes the fragility of human emotions and ambitions. It serves as a reminder that both individuals and their dreams are delicate, susceptible to disappointment and heartbreak. This recognition of vulnerability points to the necessity for compassion and understanding in our interactions with ourselves and others.
Themes
FragilityHeartbreakDreamsVulnerabilityCompassion
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared during a support group to remind members that it's okay to feel vulnerable.
More from Neil Gaiman
All quotes →Jesus. Low-Key Lyesmith," said Shadow. and then he heard what he was saying and he understood. "Loki," he said. "Loki Lie-smith." "You're slow," said Loki, "but you get there in the end." And his lips twisted into a scarred smile and the embers danced in the shadows of his eyes.
Neil GaimanRead
As a teenager I wrote to R.A. Lafferty. And he responded, too, with letters that were like R.A. Lafferty short stories, filled with elliptical answers to straight questions and simple answers to complicated ones.
Neil GaimanRead
The important thing to understand about American history, wrote Mr. Ibis, in his leather-bound journal, is that it is fictional, a charcoal-sketched simplicity for the children, or the easily bored.
Neil GaimanRead
Nothing’s changed. You’ll go home. You’ll be bored. You’ll be ignored. No one will listen to you, really listen to you. You’re too clever and too quiet for them to understand. They don’t even get your name right.
Neil GaimanRead
I like the stars. It's the illusion of permanence, I think. I mean, they're always flaring up and caving in and going out. But from here, I can pretend...I can pretend that things last. I can pretend that lives last longer than moments. Gods come, and gods go. Mortals flicker and flash and fade. Worlds don't last; and stars and galaxies are transient, fleeting things that twinkle like fireflies and vanish into cold and dust. But I can pretend.
Neil GaimanRead
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