I mean, every novel's a historical novel anyway. But calling something a historical novel seems to put mittens on it, right? It puts manners on it. And you don't want your novels to be mannered.
Colum MccannRead
There are moments we return to, now and always. Family is like water - it has a memory of what it once filled, always trying to get back to the original stream.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Family holds a lasting connection and memory that shapes our identity.
This quote emphasizes the deep-rooted ties that bind families together, suggesting that these connections endure through time and shape our identities. Just as water remembers its source, families retain a certain essence of their history and heritage, striving to maintain their original bonds, regardless of the changes life brings.
Themes
FamilyMemoryConnectionHeritageIdentity
In practice
Example use cases
In a family reunion speech, when reflecting on our shared history and bonds.
More from Colum Mccann
All quotes →Goodness was more difficult than evil. Evil men knew that more than good men. That's why they became evil. That's why it stuck with them. Evil was for those who could never reach the truth. It was a mask for stupidity and lack of love. Even if people laughed at the notion of goodness, if they found it sentimental, or nostalgic, it didn't matter -- it was none of those things, he said, and it had to be fought for.
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She takes another long haul, lets the smoke settle in her lungs-- she has heard somewhere that cigarettes are good for grief. One long drag and you forget how to cry. The body too busy dealing with the poison.
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It was a silence that heard itself, awful and beautiful.
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It struck me that distant cities are designed precisely so you can know where you came from.
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And I suddenly think, as I look across the table at him, that these are the days as they will be. This is the future as we see it. The swerve and the static. The confidence and the doubt.
Colum MccannRead
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