|

|

Advertisements

Penelope Lively Quotes

It seems to me that everything that happens to us is a disconcerting mix of choice and contingency Picture Quote #1

And in another year everything will be different yet again. It is always like that, and always will be; you are forever standing on the brink, in a place where you cannot see ahead; there is nothing of which to be certain except what lies behind. This should be terrifying, but somehow it is not Picture Quote #1

I've always been fascinated by the operation of memory - the way in which it is not linear but fragmented, and its ambivalence Picture Quote #1

Since then, I have just read and read - but, that said, I suppose there is a raft of writers to whom I return again and again, not so much because I want to write like them, even if I were capable of it, but simply for a sort of stylistic shot in the arm Picture Quote #1

I believe that the experience of childhood is irretrievable. All that remains, for any of us, is a headful of brilliant frozen moments, already dangerously distorted by the wisdoms of maturity Picture Quote #1

The days of our lives vanish utterly, more insubstantial than if they had been invented. Fiction can seem more enduring than reality Picture Quote #1

Advertisements

I'm writing another novel and I know what I'm going to do after, which may be something more like this again, maybe some strange mixture of fiction and non fiction Picture Quote #1

I'm now an agnostic but I grew up on the King James version, which I'm eternally grateful for Picture Quote #1

I'm not an historian but I can get interested - obsessively interested - with any aspect of the past, whether it's palaeontology or archaeology or the very recent past Picture Quote #1

I'm intrigued by the way in which physical appearance can often direct a person's life; things happen differently for a beautiful woman than for a plain one Picture Quote #1

I have had to empty two family homes during the last few years - first, the house that had been my grandmother's since 1923, and then my own country home, which we had lived in for over twenty years Picture Quote #1

I didn't think I had anything particular to say, but I thought I might have something to say to children Picture Quote #1

Advertisements

Getting to know someone else involves curiosity about where they have come from, who they are Picture Quote #1

Equally, we require a collective past - hence the endless reinterpretations of history, frequently to suit the perceptions of the present Picture Quote #1

Conventional forms of narrative allow for different points of view, but for this book I wanted a structure whereby each of the main characters contributed a distinctive version of the story Picture Quote #1

I find this miraculous. I never cease to wonder at it. That words are more durable than anything Picture Quote #1

You write out of experience, and a large part of that experience is the life of the spirit; reading is the liberation into the minds of others Picture Quote #1

It seems to me that anyone whose library consists of a Kindle lying on a table is some sort of bloodless nerd Picture Quote #1

Advertisements

Behind and byond her looks, her manner, there had been some dark malaise. But nobody ever saw it, back then, he thought. All you saw was her face Picture Quote #1

Crying not in grief but in wonder that nothing is ever lost, that everything can be retrieved, that a lifetime is not linear but instant. That, inside the head, everything happens at once Picture Quote #1

History is a slippery business; the past is not a constant but a landscape that mutates according to argument and opinion Picture Quote #1

An ending is an artificial device; we like endings, they are satisfying, convenient, and a point has been made. But time does not end, and stories march in step with time Picture Quote #1

Thinks that it is a poor sort of life that has not known expectation, the pleasure of savoring ahead. So enjoy it while you have it, he tells himself Picture Quote #1

The past is our ultimate privacy; we pile it up, year by year, decade by decade, it stows itself away, with its perverse random recall system Picture Quote #1

Advertisements

The cupidity centered on bank statements and shareholdings is more difficult to understand than the avarice of an Elizabethan trader Picture Quote #1

I control the world so long as I can name it. Which is why children must chase language before they do anything else, tame the wilderness by describing it, challenge God by learning His hundred names Picture Quote #1

I can walk about London and see a society that seems an absolutely revolutionary change from the 1950s, that seems completely and utterly different, and then I can pick up on something where you suddenly see that it's not Picture Quote #1

She saw the shadows of her children, young again, playing on that tree. And now to be here with him. You cross your own path Picture Quote #1

All I know for certain is that reading is of the most intense importance to me; if I were not able to read, to revisit old favorites and experiment with names new to me, I would be starved - probably too starved to go on writing myself Picture Quote #1

Giving presents is one of the most possessive things we do, did you realize that? It's the way we keep a hold on other people. Plant ourselves in their lives Picture Quote #1

1 2 3

Friendship Quotes

Motivational Quotes

Inspirational Quotes

Advertisements

Text Quotes

It seems to me that everything that happens to us is a disconcerting mix of choice and contingency (Penelope Lively Quotes) And in another year everything will be different yet again. It is always like that, and always will be; you are forever standing on the brink, in a place where you cannot see ahead; there is nothing of which to be certain except what lies behind. This should be terrifying, but somehow it is not (Penelope Lively Quotes) I've always been fascinated by the operation of memory - the way in which it is not linear but fragmented, and its ambivalence (Penelope Lively Quotes) Since then, I have just read and read - but, that said, I suppose there is a raft of writers to whom I return again and again, not so much because I want to write like them, even if I were capable of it, but simply for a sort of stylistic shot in the arm (Penelope Lively Quotes) I believe that the experience of childhood is irretrievable. All that remains, for any of us, is a headful of brilliant frozen moments, already dangerously distorted by the wisdoms of maturity (Penelope Lively Quotes) The days of our lives vanish utterly, more insubstantial than if they had been invented. Fiction can seem more enduring than reality (Penelope Lively Quotes) I'm writing another novel and I know what I'm going to do after, which may be something more like this again, maybe some strange mixture of fiction and non fiction (Penelope Lively Quotes) I'm now an agnostic but I grew up on the King James version, which I'm eternally grateful for (Penelope Lively Quotes) I'm not an historian but I can get interested - obsessively interested - with any aspect of the past, whether it's palaeontology or archaeology or the very recent past (Penelope Lively Quotes) I'm intrigued by the way in which physical appearance can often direct a person's life; things happen differently for a beautiful woman than for a plain one (Penelope Lively Quotes) I have had to empty two family homes during the last few years - first, the house that had been my grandmother's since 1923, and then my own country home, which we had lived in for over twenty years (Penelope Lively Quotes) I didn't think I had anything particular to say, but I thought I might have something to say to children (Penelope Lively Quotes) Getting to know someone else involves curiosity about where they have come from, who they are (Penelope Lively Quotes) Equally, we require a collective past - hence the endless reinterpretations of history, frequently to suit the perceptions of the present (Penelope Lively Quotes) Conventional forms of narrative allow for different points of view, but for this book I wanted a structure whereby each of the main characters contributed a distinctive version of the story (Penelope Lively Quotes) I find this miraculous. I never cease to wonder at it. That words are more durable than anything (Penelope Lively Quotes) You write out of experience, and a large part of that experience is the life of the spirit; reading is the liberation into the minds of others (Penelope Lively Quotes) It seems to me that anyone whose library consists of a Kindle lying on a table is some sort of bloodless nerd (Penelope Lively Quotes) Behind and byond her looks, her manner, there had been some dark malaise. But nobody ever saw it, back then, he thought. All you saw was her face (Penelope Lively Quotes) Crying not in grief but in wonder that nothing is ever lost, that everything can be retrieved, that a lifetime is not linear but instant. That, inside the head, everything happens at once (Penelope Lively Quotes) History is a slippery business; the past is not a constant but a landscape that mutates according to argument and opinion (Penelope Lively Quotes) An ending is an artificial device; we like endings, they are satisfying, convenient, and a point has been made. But time does not end, and stories march in step with time (Penelope Lively Quotes) Thinks that it is a poor sort of life that has not known expectation, the pleasure of savoring ahead. So enjoy it while you have it, he tells himself (Penelope Lively Quotes) The past is our ultimate privacy; we pile it up, year by year, decade by decade, it stows itself away, with its perverse random recall system (Penelope Lively Quotes) The cupidity centered on bank statements and shareholdings is more difficult to understand than the avarice of an Elizabethan trader (Penelope Lively Quotes) I control the world so long as I can name it. Which is why children must chase language before they do anything else, tame the wilderness by describing it, challenge God by learning His hundred names (Penelope Lively Quotes) I can walk about London and see a society that seems an absolutely revolutionary change from the 1950s, that seems completely and utterly different, and then I can pick up on something where you suddenly see that it's not (Penelope Lively Quotes) She saw the shadows of her children, young again, playing on that tree. And now to be here with him. You cross your own path (Penelope Lively Quotes) All I know for certain is that reading is of the most intense importance to me; if I were not able to read, to revisit old favorites and experiment with names new to me, I would be starved - probably too starved to go on writing myself (Penelope Lively Quotes) Giving presents is one of the most possessive things we do, did you realize that? It's the way we keep a hold on other people. Plant ourselves in their lives (Penelope Lively Quotes)

1 2 3