Lev Grossman Quotes
It's not really possible to open 'The Casual Vacancy' without a lot of expectations both high and low crashing around in your brain and distorting your vision. There's no point pretending they're not there.
Quotes to Explore
-
America tends to worship the modest talent because it doesn't put us in an uncomfortable position vis-a-vis the artist.
-
I converse with my dog through ESP.
-
I do always have a wall up. But I feel by doing it, I keep myself safe.
-
Justice is revenge.
-
After all, one knows one's weak points so well, that it's rather bewildering to have the critics overlook them and invent others.
-
It angers me when sustainability gets used as a buzz word. For 90 percent of the world, sustainability is a matter of survival.
-
Now I am not against widgets, those small third-party applications that people can put on their Web pages on social networks like Facebook and MySpace, in general.
-
The main purpose of life is to live rightly, think rightly, act rightly. The soul must languish when we give all our thought to the body.
-
I'm not Mr. Mom, but there's just certain things I won't say anymore.
-
I feel like a member of any group comprised of outsiders.
-
The first time I worked with colors was by making these mosaics of Pantone swatches. They end up being very large pictures, and I photographed with a very large camera - an 8x10 camera. So you can see the surface of every single swatch - like in this picture of Chuck Close. And you have to walk very far to be able to see it.
-
Italian was my first foreign language. I speak it better than English.
-
I enjoy stand-up because it has the biggest reward: instant gratification. You can hear the people laughing.
-
We grew up listening to music like that: we grew up on the snap music, grew up off the trap music, grew up on all the South sound.
-
You can't get a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit me.
-
I remember when I first met Katherine Bigelow for 'Zero Dark Thirty' – actually, we met for another movie, and that never got made, and then she called me and invited me to 'Zero Dark Thirty'.
-
These days we're all hyper-aware of the canonical way in which stories are supposed to play out - people are taught all about three-act scripting and where to put the reversal and all of that - and I think we can do more interesting narratives.
-
The arrogance of age must submit to be taught by youth.
-
The interesting part of the process is developing the character, you know, why did he become that? Why is the guy a murderer, or why is this guy a pervert, or whatever he is. So that's the fun part for me to delve into the abyss.
-
I've lived in many things - boats, caravans, and buses. I've been homeless, I've had no money: everything. But I believe in magic, and having a vision. The tough times made me a warrior. I work hard.
-
If Amsterdam or Leningrad vie for the title of Venice of the North, then Venice - what compliment is high enough? Venice, with all her civilisation and ancient beauty, Venice with her addiction to curious aquatic means of transport, yes, my friends, Venice is the Henley of the South.
-
Learn early, learn often.
-
I live for my work, apart from my family who come first. And I live to tell stories and pretend to be other people, it's something I've been doing since I was 3 years old. Maybe it's because I'm intrinsically bored with myself, and I find other people more interesting.
-
It's not really possible to open 'The Casual Vacancy' without a lot of expectations both high and low crashing around in your brain and distorting your vision. There's no point pretending they're not there.
