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Imre Kertesz Quotes

Man is always a little at fault, that’s all Picture Quote #1

I stayed alive therefore I am Picture Quote #1

I have not changed my opinion that the Holocaust is a trauma of European civilization Picture Quote #1

I am no historian, but Hungary is a country which has never known democracy - and by that, I mean not a democratic political system, but an organic process which has mobilised the entire country’s society. In the case of Hungary, this development was blocked by the growth of the Ottoman empire in the 16th century Picture Quote #1

Writing changed my life. It has an existential dimension, and that’s the same for every writer. Every artist has a moment of awakening, of happening upon an idea that grabs hold of you, regardless of whether you are a painter or a writer Picture Quote #1

What I discovered in Auschwitz is the human condition, the end point of a great adventure, where the European traveler arrived after his two-thousand-year-old moral and cultural history Picture Quote #1

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When we write about Auschwitz, we must know that Auschwitz, in a certain sense at least, suspended literature. One can only write a black novel about Auschwitz or - you should excuse the expression - a cheap serial, which begins in Auschwitz and is still not over Picture Quote #1

I came from two harsh dictatorships, Nazi and Stalinist. I never thought of becoming a writer as such, yet in a lucid moment, I recognised what I had to do Picture Quote #1

No one in my family wrote. And there was no real introduction. I suppose I somehow blundered into it when I was about six or seven years old. I was asked what present I would like, and, without knowing why, I responded that I would like a journal. It was a beautiful journal - so beautiful that I didn’t want to sully it Picture Quote #1

The world of fiction is a sovereign world that comes to life in the author’s head and follows the rules of art, of literature. And that is the major difference that is reflected in the form of the work, in its language and its plot. An author invents every aspect of a fiction, every detail Picture Quote #1

A good autobiography is like a document: a mirror of the age on which people can ‘depend.’ In a novel, by contrast, it’s not the facts that matter, but precisely what you add to the facts Picture Quote #1

The Holocaust survivor who knows Auschwitz through the experience of suffering observes it all from the perspective assigned to him. He keeps silent or gives interviews to the Spielberg Foundation, he accepts the compensation payments promised him after a fifty-year delay, or, if he is prominent, he makes a speech in the Swedish Academy Picture Quote #1

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If you’re a revolutionary, you shouldn’t have started a family Picture Quote #1

I do what I have to do, although I don’t know why I have to Picture Quote #1

The world is not our imagination but our nightmare, full of inconceivable surprises Picture Quote #1

Boredom. He takes it with him everywhere, like an angry shaggy terrier that he sets on others from time to time Picture Quote #1

If one takes the path of success, then one ends up either successful or unsuccessful, there is no third alternative Picture Quote #1

I am still here, although I don’t know why; accidentally, I guess, as I was born; I am as much or as little accomplice to my staying alive as I was to my birth Picture Quote #1

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At any rate I found myself writing because I had to write, although I didn’t know why Picture Quote #1

For me this is a fact, writing is necessity, I don’t know why, but it seems it was the only solution offered to me, even if it doesn’t solve anything; still it doesn’t leave me… Picture Quote #1

On the other hand, what is really irrational and what truly cannot be explained is not evil but, contrarily, the good Picture Quote #1

Nothing upsets me as much as a shop window jammed full of objects; such windows literally depress, sadden, even demoralize me Picture Quote #1

My body is foreign to me that body that sustains me and will, ultimately, kill me Picture Quote #1

How can we do justice even when it concerns truth itself, since for me only one truth exists, my truth, even if it is a delusion, yes, my delusion; my delusion Picture Quote #1

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Man, when reduced to nothing, or in other words a survivor, is not tragic but comic, because he has no fate Picture Quote #1

I am sick of atrocities, though these are now the natural order of our world. And I would still like to act! Picture Quote #1

Nonexistence. The society of the nonexistent. In the street yesterday a nonexistent person trod on my foot with his nonexistent foot Picture Quote #1

A person’s true means of expression is his life. Living the shame of life and maintaining silence, that was the greatest accomplishment of all Picture Quote #1

Writers sometimes cast themselves into the most profound depths of despair in order to master it and move on Picture Quote #1

I had gotten into the habit of sleeping late because I had started to see that this was the only sensible way I could kill time Picture Quote #1

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Friendship Quotes

Motivational Quotes

Inspirational Quotes

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Text Quotes

Man is always a little at fault, that’s all (Imre Kertesz Quotes) I stayed alive therefore I am (Imre Kertesz Quotes) I have not changed my opinion that the Holocaust is a trauma of European civilization (Imre Kertesz Quotes) I am no historian, but Hungary is a country which has never known democracy - and by that, I mean not a democratic political system, but an organic process which has mobilised the entire country’s society. In the case of Hungary, this development was blocked by the growth of the Ottoman empire in the 16th century. (Imre Kertesz Quotes) Writing changed my life. It has an existential dimension, and that’s the same for every writer. Every artist has a moment of awakening, of happening upon an idea that grabs hold of you, regardless of whether you are a painter or a writer. (Imre Kertesz Quotes) What I discovered in Auschwitz is the human condition, the end point of a great adventure, where the European traveler arrived after his two-thousand-year-old moral and cultural history. (Imre Kertesz Quotes) When we write about Auschwitz, we must know that Auschwitz, in a certain sense at least, suspended literature. One can only write a black novel about Auschwitz or - you should excuse the expression - a cheap serial, which begins in Auschwitz and is still not over. (Imre Kertesz Quotes) I came from two harsh dictatorships, Nazi and Stalinist. I never thought of becoming a writer as such, yet in a lucid moment, I recognised what I had to do. (Imre Kertesz Quotes) No one in my family wrote. And there was no real introduction. I suppose I somehow blundered into it when I was about six or seven years old. I was asked what present I would like, and, without knowing why, I responded that I would like a journal. It was a beautiful journal - so beautiful that I didn’t want to sully it. (Imre Kertesz Quotes) The world of fiction is a sovereign world that comes to life in the author’s head and follows the rules of art, of literature. And that is the major difference that is reflected in the form of the work, in its language and its plot. An author invents every aspect of a fiction, every detail. (Imre Kertesz Quotes) A good autobiography is like a document: a mirror of the age on which people can ‘depend.’ In a novel, by contrast, it’s not the facts that matter, but precisely what you add to the facts. (Imre Kertesz Quotes) The Holocaust survivor who knows Auschwitz through the experience of suffering observes it all from the perspective assigned to him. He keeps silent or gives interviews to the Spielberg Foundation, he accepts the compensation payments promised him after a fifty-year delay, or, if he is prominent, he makes a speech in the Swedish Academy. (Imre Kertesz Quotes) If you’re a revolutionary, you shouldn’t have started a family (Imre Kertesz Quotes) I do what I have to do, although I don’t know why I have to (Imre Kertesz Quotes) The world is not our imagination but our nightmare, full of inconceivable surprises (Imre Kertesz Quotes) Boredom. He takes it with him everywhere, like an angry shaggy terrier that he sets on others from time to time (Imre Kertesz Quotes) If one takes the path of success, then one ends up either successful or unsuccessful, there is no third alternative (Imre Kertesz Quotes) I am still here, although I don’t know why; accidentally, I guess, as I was born; I am as much or as little accomplice to my staying alive as I was to my birth (Imre Kertesz Quotes) At any rate I found myself writing because I had to write, although I didn’t know why (Imre Kertesz Quotes) For me this is a fact, writing is necessity, I don’t know why, but it seems it was the only solution offered to me, even if it doesn’t solve anything; still it doesn’t leave me… (Imre Kertesz Quotes) On the other hand, what is really irrational and what truly cannot be explained is not evil but, contrarily, the good (Imre Kertesz Quotes) Nothing upsets me as much as a shop window jammed full of objects; such windows literally depress, sadden, even demoralize me (Imre Kertesz Quotes) My body is foreign to me that body that sustains me and will, ultimately, kill me (Imre Kertesz Quotes) How can we do justice even when it concerns truth itself, since for me only one truth exists, my truth, even if it is a delusion, yes, my delusion; my delusion (Imre Kertesz Quotes) Man, when reduced to nothing, or in other words a survivor, is not tragic but comic, because he has no fate (Imre Kertesz Quotes) I am sick of atrocities, though these are now the natural order of our world. And I would still like to act! (Imre Kertesz Quotes) Nonexistence. The society of the nonexistent. In the street yesterday a nonexistent person trod on my foot with his nonexistent foot (Imre Kertesz Quotes) A person’s true means of expression is his life. Living the shame of life and maintaining silence, that was the greatest accomplishment of all (Imre Kertesz Quotes) Writers sometimes cast themselves into the most profound depths of despair in order to master it and move on (Imre Kertesz Quotes) I had gotten into the habit of sleeping late because I had started to see that this was the only sensible way I could kill time (Imre Kertesz Quotes)

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