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Tim OBrien Quotes

All that peace, man, if felt so good it hurt. I want to hurt it back Picture Quote #1

I live in my head all day long and the world is a little dreamy Picture Quote #1

I’m not dead. But when I am, it’s likeI don’t know, I guess it’s like being inside a book that nobody’s reading Picture Quote #1

In a war without aim, you tend not to aim. You close your eyes, close your heart. The consequences become hit or miss in the most literal sense Picture Quote #1

From the year of his birth in 1914 until the outbreak of war in 1941, my father lived in a mostly white, mostly working-class, mostly Irish Catholic neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York Picture Quote #1

I’ve been surprised by Austin. I had a cowboy image of the place. It’s a pretty sophisticated city - in some ways, more sophisticated than Boston. And there’s a lighter feel to the place. It’s very good for my spirits Picture Quote #1

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Vietnam was the defining event for my generation. It spilled over into all facets of American life - into music, into the pulpits, in churches of our country. It spilled over into the city streets, police forces. And even if you were born late in the generation, Vietnam was still part of your childhood Picture Quote #1

Most of the things in ‘The Things They Carried’ didn’t happen to me. Ninety-five percent of it’s invented. It’s not what occurred Picture Quote #1

In books or films, it is desirable to have a climactic battle scene, but the world does not operate in those gross dramatic terms. In Vietnam, there was a general aimlessness, not just in the physical sense, but beyond that in the moral and ethical sense Picture Quote #1

The people in ‘July, July’ do find themselves looking backward, talking to others and to themselves about those over-the-cliff, fork-in-the-road moments in their lives. I imagine this is what must happen at a 30th college reunion Picture Quote #1

Fantasy has a dark side to it. It also has a light hemisphere - the power of the human imagination to keep going, to imagine a better tomorrow Picture Quote #1

There’s something about being amid the chaos and the horror of a war that makes you appreciate all you don’t have - and all you may lose forever Picture Quote #1

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The bad stuff never stops happening: it lives in its own dimension, replaying itself over and over Picture Quote #1

I showed up in October 1946, part of an early surge that would become a great nationwide baby boom. My sister Kathy was born a year later Picture Quote #1

When you’re so close to material, it would be as if you had come out of a bad marriage. You would be so close to it that you would be paying attention to detail that may not mean a whole lot for the reader Picture Quote #1

In Iraq and Afghanistan, our soldiers signed up intentionally. That’s a huge difference from the largely conscripted army of my era Picture Quote #1

I could feel my moral compass as a soldier, in danger of - I could feel the squeeze, the pressure of frustration and anger and fear combining on me... I felt the danger; I felt the squeeze of it Picture Quote #1

At the bottom, all wars are the same because they involve death and maiming and wounding, and grieving mothers, fathers, sons and daughters Picture Quote #1

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In the summer of 1954, after several years in Austin, Minnesota, our family moved across the state to the small, rural town of Worthington, where my dad became regional manager for a life insurance company. To me, at age 7, Worthington seemed a perfectly splendid spot on the earth Picture Quote #1

I know what it is to feel unloved, to want revenge, to make mistakes, to suffer disappointment, yet also to find the courage to go forward in life Picture Quote #1

You can’t fix your mistakes. Once people are dead, you can’t make them undead Picture Quote #1

Stories are not explanations of the world we live in. Science does that, and math does that. Our obligation as fiction writers is to enhance the mysteries Picture Quote #1

To be memorable and to have dramatic impact, informational detail must function actively within the dynamic of a story Picture Quote #1

Stories can encourage us and embolden us to face ourselves and to feel. Stories can make us feel less alone. If we’re reading a story that moves us, we can feel that emotion that I feel towards my father or mother or girlfriend. So they can give us late-night company Picture Quote #1

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By telling stories, you objectify your own experience. You separate it from yourself. You pin down certain truths Picture Quote #1

... when he kissed her, she received the kiss without returning it, her eyes wide open, not afraid, not a virgin’s eyes, just flat and uninvolved Picture Quote #1

A writer’s obligation is to invent: to go beyond what did happen and to look at what could have happened but didn’t. Fiction writers are born liars Picture Quote #1

Fiction, maybe art in general, is a tentative, uncertain enterprise; it’s not science, it’s an exploration, but you never find much in the way of answers Picture Quote #1

I grew up with the Gene Kelly look at war. The cheerful kind of stories you tell about a horrendous war Picture Quote #1

To provide background and physical description and all the rest is of course vital to fiction, but vital only insofar as such detail is in the service of a richly imagined story, rather than in the service of good botany or good philosophy or good geography Picture Quote #1

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Friendship Quotes

Motivational Quotes

Inspirational Quotes

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Text Quotes

All that peace, man, if felt so good it hurt. I want to hurt it back (Tim OBrien Quotes) I live in my head all day long and the world is a little dreamy (Tim OBrien Quotes) I’m not dead. But when I am, it’s likeI don’t know, I guess it’s like being inside a book that nobody’s reading. (Tim OBrien Quotes) In a war without aim, you tend not to aim. You close your eyes, close your heart. The consequences become hit or miss in the most literal sense. (Tim OBrien Quotes) From the year of his birth in 1914 until the outbreak of war in 1941, my father lived in a mostly white, mostly working-class, mostly Irish Catholic neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. (Tim OBrien Quotes) I’ve been surprised by Austin. I had a cowboy image of the place. It’s a pretty sophisticated city - in some ways, more sophisticated than Boston. And there’s a lighter feel to the place. It’s very good for my spirits. (Tim OBrien Quotes) Vietnam was the defining event for my generation. It spilled over into all facets of American life - into music, into the pulpits, in churches of our country. It spilled over into the city streets, police forces. And even if you were born late in the generation, Vietnam was still part of your childhood. (Tim OBrien Quotes) Most of the things in ‘The Things They Carried’ didn’t happen to me. Ninety-five percent of it’s invented. It’s not what occurred. (Tim OBrien Quotes) In books or films, it is desirable to have a climactic battle scene, but the world does not operate in those gross dramatic terms. In Vietnam, there was a general aimlessness, not just in the physical sense, but beyond that in the moral and ethical sense. (Tim OBrien Quotes) The people in ‘July, July’ do find themselves looking backward, talking to others and to themselves about those over-the-cliff, fork-in-the-road moments in their lives. I imagine this is what must happen at a 30th college reunion. (Tim OBrien Quotes) Fantasy has a dark side to it. It also has a light hemisphere - the power of the human imagination to keep going, to imagine a better tomorrow. (Tim OBrien Quotes) There’s something about being amid the chaos and the horror of a war that makes you appreciate all you don’t have - and all you may lose forever. (Tim OBrien Quotes) The bad stuff never stops happening: it lives in its own dimension, replaying itself over and over (Tim OBrien Quotes) I showed up in October 1946, part of an early surge that would become a great nationwide baby boom. My sister Kathy was born a year later. (Tim OBrien Quotes) When you’re so close to material, it would be as if you had come out of a bad marriage. You would be so close to it that you would be paying attention to detail that may not mean a whole lot for the reader. (Tim OBrien Quotes) In Iraq and Afghanistan, our soldiers signed up intentionally. That’s a huge difference from the largely conscripted army of my era. (Tim OBrien Quotes) I could feel my moral compass as a soldier, in danger of - I could feel the squeeze, the pressure of frustration and anger and fear combining on me... I felt the danger; I felt the squeeze of it. (Tim OBrien Quotes) At the bottom, all wars are the same because they involve death and maiming and wounding, and grieving mothers, fathers, sons and daughters. (Tim OBrien Quotes) In the summer of 1954, after several years in Austin, Minnesota, our family moved across the state to the small, rural town of Worthington, where my dad became regional manager for a life insurance company. To me, at age 7, Worthington seemed a perfectly splendid spot on the earth. (Tim OBrien Quotes) I know what it is to feel unloved, to want revenge, to make mistakes, to suffer disappointment, yet also to find the courage to go forward in life. (Tim OBrien Quotes) You can’t fix your mistakes. Once people are dead, you can’t make them undead. (Tim OBrien Quotes) Stories are not explanations of the world we live in. Science does that, and math does that. Our obligation as fiction writers is to enhance the mysteries. (Tim OBrien Quotes) To be memorable and to have dramatic impact, informational detail must function actively within the dynamic of a story. (Tim OBrien Quotes) Stories can encourage us and embolden us to face ourselves and to feel. Stories can make us feel less alone. If we’re reading a story that moves us, we can feel that emotion that I feel towards my father or mother or girlfriend. So they can give us late-night company. (Tim OBrien Quotes) By telling stories, you objectify your own experience. You separate it from yourself. You pin down certain truths. (Tim OBrien Quotes) ... when he kissed her, she received the kiss without returning it, her eyes wide open, not afraid, not a virgin’s eyes, just flat and uninvolved. (Tim OBrien Quotes) A writer’s obligation is to invent: to go beyond what did happen and to look at what could have happened but didn’t. Fiction writers are born liars. (Tim OBrien Quotes) Fiction, maybe art in general, is a tentative, uncertain enterprise; it’s not science, it’s an exploration, but you never find much in the way of answers. (Tim OBrien Quotes) I grew up with the Gene Kelly look at war. The cheerful kind of stories you tell about a horrendous war. (Tim OBrien Quotes) To provide background and physical description and all the rest is of course vital to fiction, but vital only insofar as such detail is in the service of a richly imagined story, rather than in the service of good botany or good philosophy or good geography. (Tim OBrien Quotes)

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